GUEST: It was from my great-grandmother. She acquired it from her deceased brother from San Francisco, and he was there during the earthquake and fire. And I always liked it as a... as a young girl and was always interested in it. And no one could tell me anything about it, but I always found it very interesting.
APPRAISER: So, this was the great earthquake of 1906. Is this right?
GUEST: I'm assuming yes, ma'am.
APPRAISER: That was a time when a lot of objects were coming from China into the West Coast, into America. This is a Chinese cast bronze brush pot. Okay.
GUEST: Brush pot.
APPRAISER: Used to contain brushes that would be used for calligraphy or painting. This is an object that was probably made in the 19th century, although it does bear a imperial mark from the Qianlong period. That is 1735 to 1795. However, it's a spurious mark, and so Chinese love to have things that looked like they were antique. This has five five-clawed dragons. Five-clawed dragons are a symbol of imperial power. And so this would have made a great gift from one sort of wealthy merchant to another in exchange for a favor. So it was probably made for domestic use in China around 1900. It's a heavy piece. It's got great weight. It looks visually very impressive. It's a symbol of wealth, of power, authority. Currently, at auction, it would bring somewhere in the vicinity, we think, of between $5,000 and $8,000.
GUEST: (laughing) Oh, my gosh! I had no idea! Gosh! Wow!
