GUEST: They were given to me by my grandmother. She couldn't remember all the details.
APPRAISER: Right.
GUEST: She seemed to think that they were in the family for a long time.
APPRAISER: These are Black Forest carvings. These pieces date from the late 19th to the early 20th century. I would bet that these are probably 1880s. This particular piece is probably one of the nicest Black Forest plaques I've ever seen.
GUEST: Really.
APPRAISER: Generally, when you see the plaques, you don't see this quality and this depth of carving. These are truly some of the best Black Forest items...
GUEST: Right.
APPRAISER: ...I've ever seen, so far as plaques with the carving and workmanship.
GUEST: Getting excited.
APPRAISER: And these are done in a fruitwood, which is rather unusual. If I had to value these individually, at a retail level, the two plaques on the ends, you probably would be somewhere in the $300 to $400 range. This center plaque, I probably would value more in the $600 to $700 range.
GUEST: Really.
APPRAISER: I mean, you're looking at, conservatively, $1,000 to $1,500 for the whole set of three.
