GUEST: I bought it from a lady that was a lifelong collector and she told me that it had belonged to the Guttman family of Cincinnati, one of the older families. She thought it was turn of the century. I have a total of 51 pieces.
APPRAISER: And where do you think it's from?
GUEST: I think it's from China.
APPRAISER: The flowers on the black ground include a number of different types of flowers. We have a lotus, we've got grapevines, we have peony, we have a whole array of garden flowers. And they really stand out in stark contrast to the black ground. That also provides a clue to the date. We know that this bowl was used for rice. The bowl over here was for various types of sauces. These are probably more serving dishes. Now, the decoration is enamel decoration. It's all painted by hand. And on the back we see a six-character mark. So the type of enamel decoration and the mark that's there indicates that this is Chinese.
GUEST: Okay.
APPRAISER: This is a mark that's from the Guangzhou period. But we also have another mark, and this is a different kind of mark. This mark says it was made during the Qinglong period. So we have a difference of opinion, so to speak. This says it was made in the 18th century.
GUEST: Wow.
APPRAISER: That mark says it was actually made in the Guangzhou period, which is 1875 to 1908. Stylistically, it's not 18th century. You do get Millefleur, which is what this is called, patterns. But this is actually an 18th century design that was reinterpreted in the late 19th century during the Guangzhou period. My bet is that this was made during that time, even though they have a mark that indicates it's from an earlier period. That was what's called an honorific mark. It's not something that was meant to deceive. And it's really terrific that we have the Guangzhou mark on the back of it. My bet is that other examples have that mark also. So we can narrow down when this was made close to around 1900.
GUEST: Okay.
APPRAISER: Now, they're terrific quality. The market for Chinese things has risen significantly in the last few years. So in terms of value for the entire set, do you have any idea? Do you want to venture a guess?
GUEST: I have no idea.
APPRAISER: Now, what did you pay?
GUEST: I paid $600 for the set about 15 years ago.
APPRAISER: Well, what would you think if I told you the entire set was conservatively $10,000 to $15,000 at auction?
GUEST: Oh, my gosh. Oh, my goodness. That would be wonderful. (laughing)
APPRAISER: That's what I'm telling you.
GUEST: Oh, goodness.
APPRAISER: Now, I can't see the entire set, so what I see here, easily $1,200 to $1,800 at auction. But extrapolating, $10,000 to $15,000 is right on target.
GUEST: Oh, that's incredible. That's incredible. That's wonderful.
