Let's Celebrate!

♪ ♪ CORAL PEÑA: Ready to party with treasures that'll make you shout with glee?

I can hardly believe that!

APPRAISER: Yeah.

(laughing): My mom is going to freak out.

APPRAISER: You're gonna be having piña coladas with your friends?

Yes, we are!

(laughing) PEÑA: It's "Antiques Roadshow: Let's Celebrate!"

♪ ♪ APPRAISER: All right, well, I gotta tell you, when you brought this to my table, I felt like Yankee Doodle Dandy.

I was, I was literally blown away.

PEÑA: There is a great sense of joy connected to so many of the treasures we've seen on "Roadshow," objects that are a point of pride.

MAN: I wear it on very special occasions, and I thought today would be a very festive day to wear it.

PEÑA: That bring back delightful memories.

I brought this print, uh, done by Munakata Shiko.

He felt very grateful for everybody who participated in the party.

PEÑA: And those with unexpected triumphs.

(chuckling) Are you kidding me?

Whoo!

All righty.

That is, uh, more than I expected.

PEÑA: We've got a trove of treasures to celebrate, starting with an object worthy of a toast.

WOMAN: I think it's a candle box.

APPRAISER: Okay.

I bought it recently.

At a shop or something?

At an antique mall.

The asking price was $35, and I got a ten percent discount, so I paid $31.50.

It is, in fact, a candle box.

We have a painted box with a sliding top.

So here on the side, we have this wonderful, really explosive basket of flowers.

It is this really creative American floral motif that's coming out of somebody's, in, mind, right?

Mm-hmm, right.

In the 19th century.

(chuckles) Okay?

Okay.

That folk appeal, that, that raw combination of colors... Mm-hmm.

...makes it powerful.

Mm-hmm.

As folk art.

Mm-hmm.

On the top is the same basket, of course.

But it's covered with dust because... Mm-hmm.

...dust settles on a horizontal surface.

Uh-huh.

It's a sliding top, and that's typical of candle boxes.

Mm-hmm.

And the thing is, at this point in the early, in the 19th century, this box made about 1830 to 1845, right?

Mm-hmm.

In that period.

They were still using tallow.

It was made of animal fat.

Mm-hmm.

And mice, those little critters, mice... Oh!

...really loved to get at that animal fat.

So they had to be in a box somewhere where it's sealed up, and a sliding top actually sealed it.

I didn't know that!

Oh, that's great!

Yeah, isn't that cool?

I've seen candle boxes with, uh, the corners chewed, with holes in it.

Oh, mm-hmm.

If we turn it around and see the end of it, I love this color here.

This one, single flower coming up, and you have the yellow band around it, right?

And the interesting thing I thought, I found this fascinating, is that that backside is not painted.

You're right.

We don't think that that was ever painted.

I mean, when... Mm-hmm.

You can see on the, if we go to the other end, that this board, this exact board has paint on it.

Uh-huh.

It's not a replaced board.

But the one thing is that it makes sense, uh, as, like, why bother?

That's up on the wall.

Yeah.

What's powerful about folk art is that it's un, by untrained artists.

Mm-hmm.

It has the appeal, the brightness, and this would brighten up a room.

What do you think it's worth?

I mean, you paid $31.50.

Mm-hmm.

Uh... Will you double your money?

$400.

That's a good guess.

But I'd multiply that by ten.

Yeah.

Oh, oh, my gosh!

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

(laughs) Yeah.

(laughs): Oh, my gosh!

I know!

(both laughing) Wow!

You're gonna be having piña coladas with your friends?

Yes, we are!

(laughing) Tonight?

So an auction estimate on this, on this painted Pennsylvania box, would be $3,000 to $4,000.

Oh, that's wonderful!

And a, on a... On a good day, it could bring, it could bring $5,000.

That's fantastic!

MAN: When I was a kid, I would go down to a store in Pullman, Washington, and buy candy and comics, and my mom knew this, of course.

And so one day, I'm at work, and she calls me and says, "I'm down at the auction," and they were selling stuff that people had left in storage units too long, and she said there were two boxes of comics, and did I want to, um, have her bid on them?

And I said, "Sure," and so she brought them home, and in the box were these two comics.

And, um, about five months ago, she calls me and I had a whole bunch of stuff in their attic, and she said she needed me to come and take them out of the attic because, um, they were taking up too much space and they were consolidating stuff.

Now, do you have any idea what she paid for the, uh, box of comics at auction?

Yeah, she paid $24 for the box.

Oh, only one box.

Only...

But then you said there were two up for auction.

There were two boxes, and she looked in the other one, and there were some toys on the top, but comics underneath.

Mm-hmm.

And this one was filled with comics, so she bid on that one.

Which, to this day, I kind of wonder what might have been in the other box.

(both laugh) Well, you brought in a tremendous collection of comics.

But I chose only two.

Yeah.

We have "The Avengers" #1 from September of 1963.

Wow.

And "Avengers" #2 from November of 1963.

So the reason I chose these two comics is because right now, the Avengers are very big in the public consciousness.

Right... Yeah.

In 2015, Marvel Comics released their latest movie, "Avengers: Age of Ultron."

Yes.

And you've got, coming out in his first movie very soon.

I heard about this!

Ant-Man.

Ant-Man-- I mean, these are some of the most iconic Marvel superheroes.

It is written by Stan Lee, the art by Jack Kirby, with just some, creators of such amazing, amazing characters, stuff we both grew up with, and grew to love.

And then we've got "Avengers" #2, and it introduces a new character, the Space Phantom, which, unfortunately, I don't think anyone really knows about anymore.

Yeah.

One thing about comic books that you, that really changes the value on them, is condition.

Now, these aren't in what we would consider mint condition.

Right.

Far from it.

Yeah.

You've got creases by the staples, you, you've got a section here that is completely folded back.

Right.

You've got what we call a rolled cover, which means the cover is slightly offset.

Especially on this one, it's particularly bad.

Do you have any idea what the value might be on them?

I honestly really don't.

At auction, in what we would consider unprofessionally-graded condition, this would sell for around $450 to $550.

Really?

Wow!

That's really cool.

But "Avengers" #1, we estimate, in this condition, it would probably sell, at auction, for between $4,000 and $6,000.

No way, you are kidding me!

In that condition?

Wow, my mom is going to freak out!

(laughs) I cannot believe that she kept them all these years.

She's totally not going to believe this story.

Seriously, wow!

(laughing): Oh, my God, that is unbelievable!

That is amazing!

(laughs): I don't even want to touch them now!

(both laughing) Mom, you did good!

(both laughing) WOMAN: I brought this print, uh, done by Munakata Shiko.

He's from Japan, but at the time, he was in New York, and then visited my husband's home, because he had an open home.

My husband was the professor at the University of New York, in, in the Asian studies department.

And he felt very grateful that my husband invited him.

So he did this as a demonstration for everybody who participated in the party.

Wonderful.

So that was actually done in your husband's home?

Is that correct?

Yes, indeed.

Did he carve the block there?

Yes.

As a demonstration.

Yes, and he, um, Mr. Munakata wanted to show everybody how it's done, how he did the work.

Well, that was fabulous.

That must have been very exciting, because, as you know, he worked in a very rough and, and, uh, aggressive manner.

And often used the ends of boxes, very rough wood, like orange crates, and then he would use chisels.

That's right.

And as you know, he would just work frantically.

Yeah.

And I notice here that not only is it signed by Munakata, but it's also dated, 1959 and July 27.

Very, very strong impression.

It does, as you notice, have a little bit of foxing.

It has gotten a little bit of foxing marks here.

Yes.

Which can be restored.

And I think it would be a piece that would be, uh, uh, more valuable and would be worth getting restored.

I see.

Um, do you have any idea of what this might be valued at?

Oh, I have no idea.

But it's just a, Munakata Shiko is so famous in Japan that I was delighted to find it.

Well, I don't, I don't blame you for being excited, it's a, it's a wonderful piece.

I would say in a retail market that a, a piece like this would be in the range of $6,000 to $7,000.

Wow, it's hard to believe!

No, Munakata is very famous, as you say, and very, very collectible artist.

Yeah.

And, uh, it's a wonderful piece and a great story.

Oh!

We really appreciate you sharing that with us today.

Oh, you're welcome.

WOMAN: It is a bridle, and, uh, the name of the horse, we know, is Baden.

MAN: I think it's a winner today-- what do you think?

I think it's a winner today.

How could we go wrong at Churchill Downs with a horse bridle, right?

♪ ♪ WOMAN: Well, it was my Great-Great- Great-Aunt Libby's doll, and I know that she was from New York.

My great-grandmother always treasured this doll, and she entered her in the Mississippi State Fair in 1938, and won oldest doll award.

Very interesting doll.

It's an early papier-mâché.

She dates from anywhere from about 1820 to 1860.

A lot of times, the dolls are very faded, and you can see what nice, high color she has on her cheeks.

She also has a wonderful outfit on.

She would be between about $750 and $1,000 at a retail antique doll show today.

Oh, wow!

♪ ♪ WOMAN: Well, my friend Kim, uh, inherited her Great-Aunt Harriet's estate, and I helped her go through it.

We, we sold some of it, and I helped her, helped her sell it, and I helped her ship it out, and she told me I could pick something.

And so I, I asked her for this.

Do you have any idea on this?

No, well, I think it's Italian.

You know, it's, it's got, um, "Italian" written on the back of it, yeah, yeah, so... You're one for one-- it is definitely Italian.

And this is actually a, it's sort of an homage piece to a very important era in Italian art, the Renaissance era, and this was made in the latter half of the 1800s.

Probably around 1880 or so.

And it's in an era called the Renaissance Revival.

Now, this is a big, super-showy piece, and it has this really interesting, uh, way that it's actually held together here.

Mm-hmm, yes, yes.

With the...

The pencils, yes.

This is the greatest make-do wire ever.

It's, like, "Yeah, we're going to use a pencil to do this."

Yeah.

There's that nice label there.

No marks on the back that you can see.

But not surprising.

And it's very typical of Italian pottery from this time period.

Oh.

Any idea what it's worth?

No, we, we don't have a clue.

We don't have a clue, so... At auction, you would expect this to bring around $1,800 to $2,000.

Oh, really?

That's... (laughs) Well, Kim, we're gonna have to have a party.

(laughs) WOMAN: In, golly, I guess it was 1963, I was, uh, uh...

I did my junior year in Madrid, Spain.

APPRAISER: Mm-hmm.

And I lived right close to the Joaquín Sorolla Museum in Madrid.

Mm-hmm.

Later, I moved to Cambridge with my first husband, whom I met in Spain.

It was about 1965, 1966.

And we found some of Jane Peterson's work, and he purchased several of the harbor scenes.

And I pur, I just fell in love with this.

Mm-hmm.

Because it reminded me of Joaquín Sorolla.

Oh, how wonderful.

You know, the, the light and the, Spain, and... And so I just fell in love with her, and I've lived with her for, golly, almost 50 years.

Oh, my goodness.

It's fascinating that you talk about Sorolla, because actually, Peterson went to Spain and studied with Sorolla, and they became great friends.

He also introduced her to Louis Comfort Tiffany, and she painted Tiffany's gardens on Long Island, and she and Tiffany traveled around together.

So she was quite a colorful artist.

I mean, she came from more modest beginnings, and from Elgin, Illinois, and studied in New York.

And then of course, like most artists who wanted to advance or to study more, she would go abroad.

So other than Spain, she also went to Paris, and she lived around the corner from Gertrude and Leo Stein.

Ah, yeah.

And they in turn introduced her to Picasso and Cézanne and Matisse.

She started out painting in more somber tones and more impressionistically.

But once she got to know them, she became much bolder in color.

And was painting a more expressionist mode.

And she was quite, quite something.

She was a single woman tromping through the Middle East, and Italy, and France, and, and all over.

So she was very much ahead of her time.

There is a label that indicates that this was exhibited with the Allied Artists of America in New York.

Yes, yeah.

And the exhibition was held in 1929.

Oh.

So this obviously was painted... For... ...around that time, or at least prior to.

And, of course, the label on the back also tells us the title, and it's called "The Answer," and it's very mysterious.

I guess she's perhaps writing an answer to someone.

Almost looks like her beads have broken.

They do, they do, it looks like the chain is broken.

I was wondering if she was so pensive, that maybe she was writing a Dear John letter, or maybe she had received a dear... What, whoever, her name is.

Whatever.

(laughs) Yeah, exactly, exactly.

I know, I, I love the title, and it's very mysterious.

It's really in very nice condition.

It's oil on canvas and it's not lined, which we like to see.

You said you purchased it unframed, did you not?

Yes.

As I recall, I paid $150 for it.

$150.

Her work is very popular.

It's also a very period piece, and it's very colorful and brilliant, and so for all those reasons, I think it's very desirable in the marketplace, and I think that a gallery in New York would be asking $300,000.

Where's a chair?

(laughing) Now I need that chair!

Oh, I'm so excited!

Well, it, I just have always loved it.

I mean, it really spoke to me.

WOMAN: Harry Bertoia made those pins, and I think there were some of the very first that he made.

My sister worked in the dorms where he stayed at Cranbrook.

He gave her one and then he knew that she had two sisters.

So three of us got the brooches, and I have those two.

APPRAISER: Do you remember about what year this was that you received them?

Oh, dear, I must have been in my teens.

I bet I must have been about 16 years old.

Okay.

Late '30s, I would say so.

I understand your family had an interesting association with Cranbrook, as well.

Correct.

Mr. Booth owned Cranbrook.

When he first married Ellen Scripps, they lived in Detroit.

Then he came to Bloomfield Hills and bought Cranbrook and built his home.

It was a dairy farm when he bought it, and then he had to have it landscaped, and that's when my dad went to work for him.

And actually, our family was the first family that had children that grew on Cranbrook.

Who grew up on Cranbrook.

So we were known as the second family of Cranbrook.

Oh, wonderful.

Yes.

Well, a little bit about the brooches, they are by Bertoia.

He was born in 1915.

He came here to the United States when he was 15 years old, and came to Detroit.

He enrolled in school in Detroit and that's where he first started to learn metalsmithing.

And his early work, he was making jewelry.

He was awarded a scholarship in 1937, and that's when he came to Cranbrook.

And in 1939, he opened up the metal studio at Cranbrook.

When we look at the work, everything is handmade.

There's no solder, everything is done by either rivets or pins or tension fitting.

And this is very much in keeping with the aesthetic of what we call modernist jewelry from this period.

And also, when you look at the design motifs that these pieces have, the forged wire, the spiral motifs, this speaks very much of Bertoia's aesthetic that we will see him develop in the furniture that he later designs.

And so these pieces are very early.

He only made jewelry for a few years before going into other areas.

During the war years, metal was being rationed.

So the metal studio actually was not open very long once World War II happened.

And so he then got into graphic design, and then he went into sculpture after the war.

So his jewelry work is really quite rare and highly, highly collectible by people who like Bertoia's sculptures and design work.

I would suggest writing down the family history and provenance of the pieces, since they're not signed.

If these just showed up in a box of jewelry at a yard sale, most people wouldn't know what they were.

If these were to come up in a auction house that has maybe modernist furniture, Bertoia sculpture, these as an addition to a Bertoia collection, each of these pieces, alone, would bring somewhere between $20,000 to $30,000.

(whispers): Wow.

So we have a total of $40,000 to $60,000 as an auction estimate.

And now that you said there's a third one out there, I would probably say it's around the same value, as well.

(whispers): Oh, my God.

That's how rare these are.

(aloud): Well, Hallelujah.

And how collectible.

It was worth the trip!

It was so nice meeting you, Peter!

Likewise, I can't believe that these came in.

Oh, my God.

And such a wonderful story.

I really appreciate your sharing that with us, Rose.

Well, Hallelujah.

What a joy-- well, wait till I tell my other daughter-in-law about that other one.

Oh, my God, I... Hey, I'm going to go home and celebrate.

There, you should.

Thank you, dear heart, I appreciate it.

You're very welcome.

Thank you for coming.

Oh, my goodness!

Never, never did I dream that.

And do you know how many years I had these in a drawer?

Oh, I'm sure.

Oh, and... And you know when they were buying silver?

I was going to sell them for silver, and then I thought, thought again, and I kept them-- hallelujah, am I glad I did.

Good, good day.

Thank you.

Thank you, Jesus, I tell you, I did the right thing, You did the right thing, Oh, Peter, you made my day.

Well, I'm glad, I'm glad.

WOMAN: It's been in our family since about 1970.

We bought it in Rhode Island.

Didn't even realize it was a Picasso until about five years ago.

I have to admit... (chuckles) ...that it hung over the stove in the kitchen, and all of our kids loved the smiley face, and no one's perfect, so it didn't bother me that there was a chip here.

Five years ago, we went into a gallery and saw not an oval, but a circular plate with pretty much the same facial features, but not the circles around here.

And I said, "Oh, we have a plate pretty similar to that."

I said, "It's over the stove," and the guy sort of gasped and said, "Over your stove?"

And I said, "Yeah, I have a plate collection."

He said, "Do you know what you have?"

And I said, "No, not really."

He opened a book, and he said, "Is yours sort of like this?

The oval one?"

And I said, "Yeah."

He said, "Do you know what it's worth?"

And I said, "Maybe $50, maybe $100?

I don't think we paid any more than that."

He said, "My dear, it's increased.

I think you have maybe $1,000."

And the guy said, "Do me a favor, and take it off the wall above the stove."

So it had layers-- I hate to say it-- of grease.

Well, I can only imagine the amount of grease that must have been on it over the kitchen-- it's just one of those things, you bought it because you liked it.

Oh, yeah, oh, yeah.

And you've enjoyed it because of the decoration.

The actual name for this particular dish is "Face in an Oval."

Picasso did a lot of these, uh, special editions for the Madoura Studio in the south of France.

Okay, all right.

He actually did 633 different objects that were taken, and they made special editions for.

Okay.

Some are jugs, some are figures, and some are dishes of different shapes.

Now, you did mention that there was a little bit of enamel loss there.

Yes... And we do see that pretty regularly on some of these pieces that have high relief.

Yes.

But otherwise, it's in quite remarkable condition.

What's really important to note...

Okay.

...for this is that in this particular issue-- and by the way, this was done in 1955.

Oh.

This tells us that they made 100 of them.

Okay.

And this is number 23 of 100.

Although this is 23 of 100, there's no guarantee that they actually got around to making the full 100 in the series.

Okay.

Here we have the Madoura name.

Right, okay.

And here, which is also important, is that this is from an original print by Picasso.

Mm-hmm.

Now, Picasso had a relationship with the Madoura Studio for about 24 years.

So you can imagine the amount of product.. Oh, yeah.

...that came from this.

Oh, yeah.

This is a really, really nice example, and I have to tell you something about the Picasso market.

In the last four or five years, it's skyrocketed.

It's just taken off tremendously.

So you're snickering in advance-- this is good.

So what do you think it's worth today?

I haven't a clue.

You haven't a clue?

Would you be surprised that an auction value in today's market, probably on the conservative side, would be in the range of $10,000 to $15,000?

Mm!

(chuckling) I love you, too.

That's fabulous.

(laughs) That's fabulous?

Yes, it's really a wonderful example.

There's really no explanation.

Oh, no.

Trends change in the antique business.

Yes, yes, yes.

And what's changed in this, over the last few years, is that Picasso has just skyrocketed.

WOMAN: I went to an antique consignment store, and I found this.

I was attracted to this.

I check it, and I did not buy it, I left.

A week after, I came back, and I got it.

My problem only is, I don't know how to read Chinese.

So I talked to at least seven people.

They says, "Oh"-- that's all they can say.

This is modeled on an old Chinese bronze form...

Okay.

...that was made as a food vessel for a wealthy official to be buried with him when he died.

Oh, my God!

So that he would have food in the afterlife.

Okay.

Now, this original form, called a Fu bronze... Uh-huh.

...was made between the seventh century B.C.... Was it?

...and the third century B.C.

Now, this piece is a later copy.

Okay.

This is what the inscription tells you on the cover here.

It also has other information that I have not been able to translate yet.

Oh.

But it actually even has the name of the vessel that it imitated as part of the inscription.

My goodness.

The date says "made in the 12th year of the reign of the Emperor Tongzhi," which translates to 1873.

What did you pay for it?

I paid $25 plus tax.

$25 plus tax.

Yes, yes.

This, five years ago, would have brought very little.

Uh-huh.

But now with the Chinese market...

Yes.

...in the big boom that it's in... Mm-hmm.

...this piece on the current market would carry a pre-sale estimate of $7,000 to $10,000.

You're kidding!

You're kidding, I can hardly believe that!

Yes.

Oh, my God!

For a $25 investment?

$25 investment.

You did a great job.

Oh, thank you!

APPRAISER: This is sort of the premier example of what a great cocktail shaker should look like.

I think you might have overpaid at two dollars Oh, my gosh.

(laughing) We sell them for about $3,000 to $5,000.

(gasps): No!

Uh-huh!

Oh, I didn't know that.

WOMAN: I've inherited it from my great-grandmother.

It is a lei niho palaoa from Hawaii.

It's made of braided human hair and whale bone.

APPRAISER: These Hawaiian hooks were generally made out of a sperm whale tooth.

Now, the sperm whales would just be washed up, and that was a pretty rare occurrence.

So anything wonderful like that would only go to the royalty.

They became more common with the advent of the Europeans, especially with trading.

And this one is a walrus tusk.

Oh.

You've done a wonderful thing by putting it in a frame.

It really is an icon of Pacific art.

I'd be comfortable putting an insurance value of about $20,000 on it.

Excellent.

WOMAN: I got this clown from my grandmother.

Well, it was made by the Noritake Company.

And Noritake's in Japan, and they're really known for making sets of china.

But between World War I and World War II, they made a whole line of things for the boudoir, like powder boxes, dresser trays, perfume bottles, and I think this is part of that.

And they were made in a very severely Art Deco style, with these incredible, bright colors.

Lots of clowns.

They did lots of these very exotic Art Deco clowns, and this is part of that line.

This particular piece would sell for between $500 and $800.

Dang, cool!

WOMAN: My grandfather bought it in Wewoka, Oklahoma, from his doctor.

And then when he passed away, in 1968, my grandmother wanted to throw the painting away.

And my mother said, "No, I want to keep it," and so she did.

And six years ago, then, she gave it to me.

Mm-hmm.

I did have it restored and then properly framed.

I think I spent about $3,000, $3,500.

So you invested some money in this.

Yes, I have.

And why did you do that?

Because I did an online search for the artist and about had a heart attack when I realized that this was a painting of, of some significance, both historically and artistically.

What did you find out?

That the artist, Ernest Spybuck, was a Shawnee from Oklahoma and that his works of art were in museums around the country.

I love Ernest Spybuck.

He wasn't a trained artist, but he had a way of capturing life around him.

Now, do you know the title on this by heart?

No, I don't.

So I would have to read it from the bottom.

(chuckling): Right.

It says "Wild Ride, Green Corn Dance, Kickapoo Indians, and Shawnee."

And it's signed by Spybuck.

They would gather to celebrate that the corn was green.

The green, it was edible for them.

So it was a gathering of celebration.

The painting's mixed media.

There's pencil, watercolor... Mm-hmm.

Maybe a little ink.

He was just amazing, and his ability to paint what he saw, his documentation of daily life, are just treasured.

There are works in the Smithsonian.

He was commissioned to do some murals for the government in different buildings, mostly in Oklahoma.

He was born in 1883 and died in 1949.

I was wondering about what year you thought that this might have been painted.

Around the 1920s.

There's a fair amount of his works around, but you rarely see them coming to market.

And if you were to offer this piece at auction today, it would sell for about $35,000.

Oh, my!

So... That's much more than what I expected to hear.

Our house burned down, we built a new house, and our friends gave us a housewarming party.

And our dear friends brought us this object.

And how have you been displaying it in your home?

Well, it comes in three pieces, so we bolted them together in the back and hung it as a mirror, because I thought it belonged on a table.

But we didn't have a table big enough.

Your instinct was right.

This was made for a table.

It's what we call a plateau.

Oh!

This has all of the spectacular qualities that you hope to find in such a piece.

It was used for putting a whole array of fruits and, and ceramic figures.

There are wheels...

Yes.

...on the bottom of the piece.

Yes.

So it could in fact be moved on the tabletop.

I see.

And they are the original wheels.

These elements, for example, these anthemions, these were bronze cast pieces, and the surface was applied by fire gilding, which was mercury and gold mixed together, and then heated up.

And the gilding would adhere... Stay.

...to the bronze mounts.

Oh.

They don't do it anymore because it's rather dangerous to do it.

My goodness.

Now, plateaus are so rare, we would give this an auction estimate of $50,000 to $70,000.

Oh, my gosh, John.

(laughing): Oh, my gosh, John.

No!

(laughing): No!

Oh, you give me shivers.

I was the essence of dining in Paris.

Only the elite, perhaps even a royal family, would have had such a spectacular piece.

And I know it came to you from your friend.

Yes.

And, uh... She's going to faint.

Well, when she sees the show, she'll be in for a surprise, but you may have a good story for her.

(laughing): I'll have to call her before that and tell her she's rich.

(laughs) I have a dear friend who saw a show a couple of years ago.

And there was a bowl of this shape and size with a nature theme to it.

And she called me and said, "I think your bowl might be by the same person."

I had never ever turned it over to look at the bottom of it.

And it's very heavy.

So we hung up the phone, and I turned it over, and indeed it was a Frackelton bowl.

It was in my grandparents' home, they were married in 1902... Uh-huh.

...went to my father, and, uh, then to me.

Well, Susan Frackelton was in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and a very important figure in Arts and Crafts.

Before then, men were primarily the ones involved in the arts.

And Arts and Crafts really got women into the decorative arts and designing pieces such as this one.

Uh, it's a wedding bowl, and it says here, "Love is the sweet wine of life."

And in the middle, it has the initials of the people who were married and the date 1902.

The decoration on the inside is reinforced with clusters of grapes on the outside, so it's a punch bowl or a wine bowl.

And very beautiful piece.

Uh, also, it's very well marked.

If you look underneath it, we'll see that Susan Frackelton is incised S and then her full last name, Frackelton, underneath it.

And she's also put the date 1902 on the bottom, as well.

So you've not had this piece appraised.

You have no idea of value.

Never.

Never.

It's really hard, because you'll see a piece of Frackelton once every three or four years if you look for it all the time.

Consequently, it's a little difficult to evaluate.

Easily, easily $20,000 to $30,000 piece of pottery on a bad day.

And possibly, if the right museum got involved, $25,000, $35,000, so... No.

Yeah, really.

Um... (chuckles) Oh, my.

(sighs) Thank you so much.

My pleasure.

Thank you.

Thank you.

It's great to see it.

Could you say that one more time?

$20,000 to $30,000.

Minimum.

Minimum.

Oh... And, the right museum, $25,000 to $35,000.

Maybe a little more.

(sighs) Wow.

(laughs) Me without my handkerchief.

(sniffles) WOMAN: My mother-in-law, she's a Tiffany collector, and she allowed me to pick some pieces out of her collection as a gift.

So these were two of the pieces that I picked.

But she has a, a very wide variety of, uh, Tiffany pieces in her collection.

So these are two of the three or four that you picked?

Yes.

You have Tiffany, which you do know.

Well, this particular piece is more of a commercial-made piece.

Okay.

They made more of them.

But all Tiffany is extremely wonderful and valuable.

This is an iridescent favrile piece, with the vine and leaf pattern.

And on the bottom, we have an M suffix, which tells us that this was made in 1915.

Then we have here a calyx style.

And that's the shape of the piece.

And it's also Tiffany.

The suffix on the bottom is an A.

And that is for 1903.

This particular piece is more of an art piece.

They made not many of them.

I mean, they're out there, but not many of them.

Now, what did she tell you about value?

She found it in a garage sale.

She didn't tell me how much she paid for it.

But she said that the owners didn't know what they had.

So when she saw it, she quickly scooped it up.

And she gave you some little idea of what she normally pays?

I think she said around $200.

$200.

Well, this particular piece would be $6,000.

(laughing): What?

Nice gift.

Wow.

The calyx piece would be $7,500.

And those are retail values.

Whoa!

(laughs) Oh, my goodness.

It is very festive.

Yes.

It is.

That's why you liked it, right?

Yes.

Yes.

They've got the dragon festivals going on, and they're all on parade, these little boys.

So it's a, a symbol of wealth and good fortune for the new year.

WOMAN: Oh, good.

MAN: Ah.

Which is very good.

WOMAN: That's great.

Yeah.

It's great.

How much did you buy it for?

$200.

For $200.

At an auction, yeah.

Well, you didn't do too bad.

I guess not.

Oh, good, I hope.

So today, this lovely Chinese ginger jar would be worth about $400 to $600.

WOMAN: That's great.

MAN: Fabulous.

Yeah.

Thank you very much.

We're happy.

(laughs) We like the dragon on it, with the dragon.

(laughing) It brings us good luck.

Well, my mother claims it's a mold for these dolls that used to be used during celebrations in Mexico.

What they'd do is, they'd cover these with papier-mâché.

Mm-hmm.

And they'd paint them all up.

Gotcha.

And they did-- at fiestas, everybody's throwing them up in the air with firecrackers and blowing them up.

Cool.

And they still make 'em today.

Do you know about this?

BOY: Uh, no.

This is from Central Mexico.

You know what a molcajete is?

I do.

You do.

Yes.

Yeah.

You know a grinder?

Yeah.

Well, this is, like, for spices, you know, it's... Oh, cool.

...not one of those big grindstones, but it's like a ceremonial one.

You know, this is, like, 1,800 years to 2,000 years old.

Oh!

Okay.

And, uh, it's, it's hard to believe that things this old aren't worth more money, but $150, something like that.

Oh, that's great.

That's probably worth about $50.

Cool.

It's just cool stuff.

Thank you.

Well, thanks for coming in.

MAN: I brought in two, uh, cabinet photos, I believe, or cabinet cards, they're called... APPRAISER: Yeah.

...of, uh, Hilda Clark.

I purchased them on an online auction near my hometown.

Uh-huh.

Hilda Clark, boy, she's a beauty, isn't she?

She was a Victorian music hall sensation.

She was born around 1872.

And so these, you know, she looks to be maybe 23, 24 years old here.

She signed both of the cabinet cards with an inscription to friends of hers who were in vaudeville.

What's most important about Hilda Clark, though, is, she was hired by the Coca-Cola Company to be one of the very first Coca-Cola girls.

Wow.

And so on account of that, the Coca-Cola collectors just, you know, anything to do with Hilda Clark they're avid, avid fans and collectors of.

And how much did you pay for these?

I gave $190 for them.

Because they're in really great shape, they're good early images around the time that she was with Coca-Cola, I would think the value at auction would be around $1,000 each.

Wow.

(laughs) Happy birthday to me.

(laughs) Wow.

(laughing): Yeah.

Happy birthday.

Yeah.

MAN: I made the hat because of the pieces of jewelry that I had inherited from an aunt, and some of them are Eisenberg originals.

Some are Kramer.

One, uh, set is done by Lavender, which was an assistant to Chanel.

I had no way of exhibiting them.

And I wanted to wear them and show them so that people that collected jewelry would be fascinated by it.

I wear it on very special occasions and I thought today would be a very festive day to wear it.

(laughing): And I really didn't want the hat appraised, but... No, I, I had to... Just ended up that way.

I had to look at it closely.

I actually wanted to show the viewers a little bit.

I'm gonna turn you slightly so they can see.

This is by Eisenberg, and it's an Eisenberg original, which is quite valuable and collectible.

And then in the back here, we've got some bird pins.

Most of this, of course, is paste jewelry.

You're really in the tradition of great hat designers.

I'm going to say that what you're wearing on your head is probably worth somewhere around $1,500 to $2,000.

Really?

Yes.

Do you think that's sufficient for all the work and years of collecting?

(laughs) I can't believe it!

No, I, I think it's, uh, it's great, and I hope you enjoy wearing the hat.

Thank you.

I do.

Thank you.

Do you know anything about James P. Johnson?

No, I don't.

Just what I was able to research from a book, several books, that came with this collection.

We acquired this, my husband and I, through a storage auction that we attended one day.

We were basically bidding on was some badly needed furniture that we were looking for.

And you end up with furniture...

Yes.

...and a magnificent collection...

Yes.

...of one of the greatest musical geniuses to ever live.

Yes.

Apparently.

Can I just tell you a little bit about James P. Johnson?

Yes, please.

James P. Johnson is known as the Father of Stride Piano.

Mm-hmm.

And that comes from a term when they used to play shout piano or rent party piano music to raise money, uh, in Harlem.

Mm-hmm.

He taught the late Fats Waller.

Mm-hmm.

He played with Sidney Bechet, with Ethel Waters, with Bessie Smith, with Duke Ellington, and even composed a symphony with Langston Hughes.

Right.

This is a magnificent collection that includes his 1955 obituary, a lovely four-album set of his 78 records, uh, some sheet music, and his very stylish hat right here.

Because, as I understand, he was a natty dresser, um, and sheet music that James P. Johnson did himself.

He performed with all of the musical giants, but yet his name is still unknown today.

Right.

It's a crime, because this man is that important.

Yes.

Here's his 1921 Conservatory of Music Art diploma from New York and his Victrola.

Mm-hmm.

Do you have any idea what this could be worth?

I have no idea at all.

You have no idea?

No idea.

I'm not into jazz music.

I have no idea.

After I tell you, you're gonna be into jazz music.

I have to say this to you.

I was about to lose my shoes...

Yes!

...when I saw this.

(laughs) There are contracts, there are letters, there's sheet music, there's, you name it.

Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.

This is worth about $12,000 to $15,000.

Oh, my gosh.

But I, I have to say that this is what it would be worth on the open market.

On the open market.

Because it's Black memorabilia, it's music Americana, and it's just an outstanding story.

It's fantastic.

I found it in my parents' garage about five years ago tucked away behind a bunch of boxes.

At first, I had no idea what it was, but it seemed relatively significant.

So I pulled it out, and lo and behold, my father would tell me, "Oh, that's the Dalí."

Apparently, uh, my, my uncle owned an art gallery in Chicago back in the day, and I, my father either gave him a loan or invested in the gallery a while back, and this was repayment of the debt or a thank you for the investment.

Did your dad have any idea what, what it was?

I mean, aside from a Dalí.

He did.

He did.

Not aside from knowing that it was a Dalí.

I think he just liked the way it looked.

I'm not even sure if he got to pick exactly what he got.

But other than that, that, that's all he's told me and that's all I know.

It's sat in my basement ever since.

It's not in the best condition, so, uh... Is this how you found it?

Yes.

Yeah.

I, I sprayed some Windex on the glass this morning before I brought it in.

Maybe wiped a few cobwebs off.

Nice, uh, nice work.

But that's it.

All right, so it's a lithograph by Salvador Dalí.

Okay.

He signed it down here in pencil.

Mm-hmm.

And you can see down here it's a limited edition of 150.

Pencil number there.

Yes.

Okay.

He made this lithograph in 1965.

The lithograph's title is "Drawers of Memory."

It's based on an earlier sculpture, as well as an earlier painting...

Okay.

...that he had made in 1936.

Wow.

Okay.

The sculpture is now very well-known.

It's called the "Venus de Milo With Drawers."

So it's the famous Greek sculpture.

Yeah.

He made a replica of that and put drawers on the statue.

Okay.

Fascinating.

And he was, thi, this was in 1936, and he was very influenced by Sigmund Freud.

Mm.

And Dalí once said that the only difference between the ancient Greek norm of the human body and then the body post-Freud was that Freud had made the body full of secret drawers.

Very interesting.

So, this lithograph is based on those two earlier works.

Mm-hmm.

The painting, now in a German collection.

Okay.

The statue, the "Venus de Milo With Drawers," in the Art Institute of Chicago from 1936.

Oh, okay.

This is in reverse of the painting.

The lithograph was published by Sidney Lucas... Mm-hmm.

...who had a gallery in New York, and worked very closely with Dalí in the mid-1960s.

Oh, really.

Okay.

Condition on it, it's a little buckled at the edges.

Yeah, I noticed that.

I'd probably remat that.

Okay.

Is that all it would take?

Yeah, it's probably just slipped in the matting.

I see.

And so it's buckled up like that.

All in all, it looks like it's in great condition to me.

Really?

Wow.

Okay.

And it's one of Dalí's largest lithographs.

Mm-hmm.

And it's a very well-known image.

Oh.

Okay.

There are a lot of forgeries of his work.

Oh, really?

We all know that.

That's pretty, that's pretty...

I didn't know that.

Except for you.

Apparently I'm out.

Toward the end of his career, publishers making copies of his work... Mm-hmm.

...putting signatures on, forging the signatures... Yeah.

...forging the works.

Lots of red flags with Dalí's work.

But this is surely genuine.

Oh... (exhales) You've never had a value.

No.

I'm, have no idea.

What's your guess?

What do you think it's worth?

Well, I've heard of Dalí before, so I know it's gotta be worth something, but... Yeah, he's, he's a household name.

I really don't know the, how much difference in value a print would be versus a, the original.

I would hope, like, a $1,000 to $2,000 or something like that?

Well, only 150 of these were made.

Okay.

So it's, it's fairly scarce, from 1965.

Uh-huh.

Mm-hmm.

I would put a replacement value on this at $30,000.

(laughing): What?

(chuckles) Are you kidding me?

(laughs) Whoo!

All righty!

That is, uh, more than I expected.

Well, congratulations.

It's a great print and, uh, take good care of it.

Yeah, um, I think I'll, I think I'll put a new mat on it.

Thank, thank your parents for it.

Uh, yes, I will, I will do that, as well.

My, my dad might want to take it back now.

(laughing): I'm not sure.

Wow.

Suddenly taking on a lot more beauty, you know?

Very appreciative now.

I like it more and more.

I know, right?

It's not going back in the basement.

(laughs) WOMAN: It's a mobile by Alexander Calder.

And Calder gave it to my aunt.

My aunt and uncle were having a cocktail party, and Calder was visiting friends of theirs who were invited to the party, so they took Calder along.

And my aunt was very creative, and among other things, she had done a needlepoint pillow of one of Calder's works.

And he was astounded.

He'd never seen one like that before.

And so she gave it to him.

And a couple of days later, somebody appeared at the doorway and he had given her this mobile as a thank you for the pillow.

You've owned this for a while, since 1985, I believe.

Yeah.

And, um, you had it, a slight restoration to it in 1986.

Some of the colors were, uh, touched up a little bit.

Yeah.

And clearly that's going to have an effect on the value to a certain degree.

Yeah.

This was originally given to your aunt in 1958.

Yes.

But this probably, as far as the actual date of construction, dates a little bit earlier than 1958.

Oh, yes.

I think it's, early '40s was a guess.

Alexander Calder essentially invented the art form, uh, known as a mobile.

Right.

And it became very iconic of 1950s modern art.

And I think the late '50s sort of marks a turning point where he begins to concentrate more on larger installations.

It's made on very thin wire, and then these are usually either aluminum or an anodized weather-resistant material... Yeah.

...that it's slipped in and then very delicately soldered.

And you can see in here where all of the knots and joints all put in in a very balancing kind of format.

He always liked the use of primary colors.

This back one is a little bit more of an orange, and some of the other appraisers on the set thought this might be a little bit unusual for a color.

We should mention the Alexander Calder Foundation...

Yes.

...which is, major element in both identifying the work of, uh, Alexander Calder, authenticating it.

And I believe that you had sent some documentation.

We've sent the documentation, and a transparency, and they just said they would need to look at it in person.

And we haven't gone to New York to do that.

Calder Association is, uh, like any foundation, is set up so that an artist's work are not diluted.

And that's why they're very diligent about keeping up to make sure that things are authenticated.

So if that they are sold, that they do have that authenticity.

I know that earlier, back in the late '80s or '90s, you had an approximate value of what it was worth?

The man who restored it said at least $30,000.

It, it's gained a little bit in value since then.

We worked on the values to somewhat of a, a consensus, and it still needs to be validated.

Based upon that, a fair auction value, the range is somewhere between $400,000 and $600,000.

How much?

$400,000 to $600,000 at auction as somewhat of a wholesale price.

Right now, Alexander Calder's market is extremely hot.

And in a good retail setting, it would not be at all inconceivable that this very small, wonderful piece of art could probably break $1 million.

Oh, my God.

Not bad for a pillow.

Oh!

My problem is, I've got one mobile and two children.

(both laughing) Thank you.

I'm sure your husband, who's watching off camera, will be equally, uh, equally happy with the good news.

(laughs): Oh, I think so.

That's great.

This pass was given to my, originally was a friend of my father's.

He was a professional football and a professional baseball player.

APPRAISER: Mm-hmm.

And in the '30s, he was at a party, is what I'm told.

And 100 of these passes were given out and they were given out by George M. Cohan to these baseball players.

And he was guaranteed a lifetime entrance to Comiskey Park.

And, uh, that's what I know.

Mm-hmm.

All right, well, I gotta tell you, when you brought this to my table, I felt like Yankee Doodle Dandy.

I was, I was literally blown away.

What we have here is a gold pass.

Gold passes are extremely rare.

As you said, it's for the American League.

It's a lifetime pass.

But what's fascinating about this pass is who it was issued to.

Mm-hmm.

It was issued to George M. Cohan, the greatest Broadway impresario, the, the composer of "Grand Old Flag," and of "Over There."

And, uh, most importantly, one of the biggest baseball fans of his time.

This pass is from the early 1910s, I would say.

And it's issued by Charles Comiskey, who is the owner of the White Sox.

Mm-hmm.

It's phenomenal.

(laughing): I mean, it's incredible.

Various kinds of passes were produced back then, including paper passes, silver passes, brass passes.

But to get a gold pass, you had to be really, really important.

What makes this even more special is, you have the original pouch, the original carrying case, with the gold inlay here that talks about who it was given to.

It's just, it's just a wonderful, wonderful piece.

You ready for this?

Yeah.

I think $10,000 to $15,000, without question.

Perhaps more at auction.

Oh, man.

And it is just, it is just so interesting.

A similar pass, a little bit earlier... Mm-hmm?

...um, issued to John L. Sullivan, went for upwards of $20,000.

Wow.

So, I mean, it is a wonderful item.

Congratulations, Gil.

Oh, that's great news, thanks.

Thank you.

All right.

PEÑA: Thanks for watching this special episode of "Antiques Roadshow."

Follow @RoadshowPBS and watch us anytime at pbs.org/antiques or on the PBS Video app.

See you next time on "Antiques Roadshow."