APPRAISER: This form of base would have been used for an incense burner.
GUEST: Oh.
APPRAISER: The body is actually a vase. This is a mixture. It's an amalgam of different things. The base draws from 17th-century Chinese design with this trunk coming out of this fellow's mouth. But in Chinese design, this would have been a lion or an elephant.
GUEST: Oh, it's interesting, I always thought it was their beards. (both laugh)
APPRAISER: 1868, the Meiji began, and they were producing these things. They were trying to figure out what their market was.
GUEST: Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER: In America, of course, 1876 was our centennial. Japan had opened up, and they were trying to sell their things to the American market, hence... The eagle. If this were to come to auction, I would expect this to sell for $3,000 to $5,000.
GUEST: Okay, very nice.
