GUEST: My wife and some friends were at a barbecue, and we were looking through an estate auction catalog. My wife and our friends, they saw this piece and they really liked the simplicity of the design, just the beauty of it.
APPRAISER: Mmm-hmm, yeah.
GUEST: A week later, I got the chance to go view it in person. I was surprised at how heavy it was.
APPRAISER: It is really heavy, I just held it, yes.
GUEST: And it had some characteristics that, you know, made me think it was actually old.
APPRAISER: You felt it was old.
GUEST: I felt it was old, and it had a certificate from the '50s that indicated what it was.
APPRAISER: What kind of certificate?
GUEST: It was from a Japanese art dealer, and they indicated that it was a 14th century Ming plate.
APPRAISER: Right. Because it's a good round shape, it's very good. You know it's Ming. And it has a nice symbol, flowers. Do you know how it was used?
GUEST: I don't, no, I don't know if it was either a serving dish or...
APPRAISER: Yeah, it was for food-- for lamb.
GUEST: Oh, for lamb?
APPRAISER: Yeah. This kind of decoration, later they usually have decorations around the rim, geometric shapes and things, but having it in the center, nice carving, it's indicative of early Ming. The owner bought it in Japan, you said, because it came with a certificate.
GUEST: Correct, yeah, there were a few other pieces that were in... for sale in this estate sale, and there were receipts from Japan-
APPRAISER: Right.
GUEST: -some letters from Japan.
APPRAISER: It makes sense, because Japanese tea masters, they like these things, and they were avid collectors.
GUEST: Right.
APPRAISER: There are very nice Ming period pieces, Celadon pieces like this in Japan. How long ago did you buy it?
GUEST: It was quite recently, just within the last week.
APPRAISER: Quite recently! Good, oh-- last week?
GUEST: Correct. I wanted to stop bidding on this much earlier.
APPRAISER: Oh, really?
GUEST: My wife really liked it. She wanted me to continue bidding a little bit more. So we ended paying a bit more than I was planning, or even expecting to pay for it.
APPRAISER: Yes, yes.
GUEST: But we got it for just over $3,000.
APPRAISER: Oh, right, okay. The Chinese items are very popular these days. At the auction, I think you can get $20,000 to $30,000.
GUEST: Wow. Wow.
APPRAISER: So, you did very well, congratulations.
GUEST: My wife did really well.
APPRAISER: Yes, congratulations.
