GUEST: Well, my mother was downsizing, and this was one of the items that was in her closet.

And she said, "Would you like this?"

And I said, yeah, it looks interesting, and it might look good in my office.

Prior to that, her mother had it.

I thought it looked so beautiful, it shouldn't sit in a closet anymore.

So, I decided to take it out and give it a whole new life.

APPRAISER: Do you know where or when your grandmother got it?

GUEST: I actually don't know.

APPRAISER: The colors are striking.

What makes part of that color pop, this dark blue...

GUEST: Yeah.

APPRAISER: ...with the light blue contrast, is the fact that for so much of this decoration, it's in relief.

And that relief is done by applying a slip, which is just kind of a thin line of clay, and it raises up certain sections.

And that actually refers to the name of what this is called.

This is... the technique is called fahua, GUEST: Hmm.

APPRAISER: which means kind of designs within borders.

GUEST: Okay.

APPRAISER: It was done this way because of inspiration from a technique of working with enamels on metal called cloisonné.

And the overall shape, this rounded shape, is called a baluster.

And one of the features that you'll notice are the figures.

They're all dressed in long, flowing robes.

GUEST: Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER: What country do you think is associated with that kind of design?

GUEST: China, maybe?

APPRAISER: Yeah, absolutely right.

GUEST: Okay.

APPRAISER: And another little clue up here is you see these little beads hanging down?

GUEST: Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER: These are kind of Buddhistic emblems.

GUEST: Okay.

APPRAISER: It's a narrative.

We have figures in a line.

GUEST: Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER: You'll notice that there's detailed painted designs on the faces.

Those are actually later designs.

GUEST: Hmm.

APPRAISER: They were probably worn off, and somebody in the 19th century or 20th century thought they would add some details to it.

GUEST: Interesting.

APPRAISER: The figures, I believe, are representative of immortals who are human-form figures that embody special attributes.

GUEST: Okay.

APPRAISER: But they're usually eight; there's nine here.

So there's more to the story than I know.

This type of ceramic was made in the 16th century...

GUEST: Hmm.

APPRAISER: ...in the Ming dynasty, which is 1368 to 1644.

This was made roughly around 1500.

GUEST: Ooh, jeez.

Okay.

APPRAISER: This would have been made for someone who was a prominent individual, somebody of wealth and power.

There's a little bit of damage that's taken place.

Right here there's a crack.

GUEST: Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER: And then it goes across the midsection.

Where it's going across the midsection is what's called the lute line, because this was probably made in a couple of sections and then joined together.

The wooden base and top were likely made around 1900 to 1915.

GUEST: Mm.

APPRAISER: What do you think the value would be for insurance?

GUEST: Hmm.

Well, it being so old, I... (chuckles) I don't even know anymore.

APPRAISER: Yeah?

GUEST: Um, I would say... maybe $500 to $1,000, maybe?

APPRAISER: Well, I, I, I think probably closer, for insurance purposes...

GUEST: Mm-hmm?

APPRAISER: ...$20,000.

GUEST: Oh.

Ah, yeah, that's, that's a little more than what I thought.

Wow.

Um, yeah, that's amazing.