GUEST: I found these in a flea market in Beijing.
APPRAISER: And you got some other things there, too, didn't you?
GUEST: Yes, that's right.
APPRAISER: And I told you about those.
GUEST: (chuckling) Yes, uh, you sure did.
APPRAISER: Didn't, didn't turn out too well with those pieces.
GUEST: No, they didn't, but we enjoyed them.
APPRAISER: Quite frankly, I was a little dismissive when you showed me the things until I saw these, because this is one of the few examples where I've ever seen something coming out of China these days where it was actually old.
GUEST: Oh, great.
APPRAISER: Yeah, they're late 19th-century. Maybe as late as the 1920s.
GUEST: Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER: They're carved walnut shells. They're magnificently carved. Beautiful, swirling dragons all over them. The other thing that's even tougher with that is to get the polish on them. Because basically, you're using techniques that you would use in stone carving, because it's just, it's too difficult a material to work with.
GUEST: Is the nut actually still inside?
APPRAISER: They removed it from one side.
GUEST: Oh, really?
APPRAISER: Yeah, yeah, they've removed it.
GUEST: So they've been separated and put...
APPRAISER: No, no, they just cut a slot in one side and then worked it out.
GUEST: Oh, my gosh.
APPRAISER: Yeah.
GUEST: Amazing-- so they're hollow, then.
APPRAISER: Yup, yup
GUEST: Wow.
APPRAISER: How much did you pay for them?
GUEST: I think I paid about $40 for them.
APPRAISER: That's really surprising, because it seems that when anything is real in Beijing, the price is just sky-high and bears little resemblance to reality. But when it comes to these, I think you got a real bargain.
GUEST: Great.
APPRAISER: Well, I'd imagine these would sell at auction for probably $1,000 apiece.
GUEST: Oh, my! (laughs)
APPRAISER: Yeah.
GUEST: I had no idea. $1,000 apiece?
APPRAISER: Yup.
