GUEST: My grandfather had actually two# occupations.

One is a barber and one is## a wood carver.

He took time in between shaves and# customers to whittle, which is what he called it.## He started with little animals and making zoos for# his wife.

And as he carved them for his wife, he## began to make bigger objects.

This here represents# one of his items called "the preaching stick."

APPRAISER: Your grandfather was Elijah Pierce?

GUEST: He was actually my father's father.

APPRAISER: And his barber shop was in Columbus?

GUEST: In Columbus, Ohio, mm-hm.

APPRAISER: Ohio.

And was he# well-known within the neighborhood..

GUEST: Oh, definitely.

Children, adults,# especially those he cut their hair... APPRAISER: Yeah.

GUEST: ...also knew a lot about# him.

And the.. they knew about him in the church.

APPRAISER: It was something that he# used in preaching, is that right?

GUEST: When he needed to tell a# story to those he was cutting hair,## he would pick something on that... APPRAISER: Right.

GUEST: ...or he would use it for# his sermon.. APPRAISER: Right.

GUEST: You'll see his brush for shaving, the.. they had the ice trucks.

He was# highly religious, so you will see... APPRAISER: Yes.

GUEST: ...the cross and the two thieves# on.. APPRAISER: Well, it is a remarkable piece...

GUEST: Thank you.

APPRAISER: ...of African American art.

GUEST: American history.

APPRAISER: It speaks to his personal narrati.. of present on this preaching stick.

In looking# through the books, in which this piece has been## illustrated and exhibited, the consensus# seems to be that it was carved somewhere## around 1950.

For a long time, these pieces# have been thought of as American folk art.

GUEST: Correct.

APPRAISER: There is now en.. because in this particular category,# the expression and the intensity of## what is depicted on these works of# art is really central to the maker's## being.

The highest price for a piece# of work by Elijah Pierce is $87,500.

GUEST: Okay.

APPRAISER: The auction estimate for this## work would be somewhere in the# vicinity of $15,000 to $20,000.

GUEST: Okay.

APPRAISER: If it were to be sold at auction...

GUEST: Sold... APPRAISER: ...which we know# is not going to ha..

GUEST: No.

APPRAISER: For insurance purposes,# I would ..

GUEST: Okay.