GUEST: We found it at a garage sale. It was filled with garage door parts. We figured it cost us about a quarter.
APPRAISER: About a quarter. Did you haggle it down or something?
GUEST: No, we figured a quarter was cheap enough.
APPRAISER: You got out of there. My gut feeling is that it's from New England, so it's come a long way since it's down here in Tennessee. This dates from the late 19th century. It was made probably near the coast, and is made obviously of these reeds, and also mahogany, these three bands of mahogany. And also incorporates brass tacks and copper. It's a great expression of folk art with the piercings, the openings, the scalloped handle. It's not just a functional object; it expresses itself. And that's the essence of folk art. It is probably not a Nantucket basket. The construction is a bit too primitive for that. The value on it, on a bad day, would be, at auction, $1,500 to $2,500.
GUEST: Oh, wow.
