GUEST: I inherited it from my mother-in-law. It was a gift to her from a secret admirer that we don't really know who it was. I had it in my house, and a friend walked in, and I was playing Nerf with my grandson around it, and they said, "I wouldn't do that." (chuckles) And after that I put it away. I know it's American Belleek.
APPRAISER: American Belleek is a manufacturer in Trenton, New Jersey. The mark has the word "Belleek."
GUEST: Uh-huh.
APPRAISER: And then the crown and the sword. Underneath it, "O&B," and those same letters appear here. The "O&B" stands for Ott & Brewer. The factory originally started in the middle of the Civil War. In 1863...
GUEST: Oh, my gosh.
APPRAISER: There were three people that came together. And then Mr. Brewer joined a few years later. Two of the other partners dropped out, and by 1871, it was Ott & Brewer. They were in business together as Ott & Brewer only until 1892. So that gives a very, very specific timeframe within which this piece had to have been made. In around 1882, they brought over from Ireland two guys who had been working for the Irish Belleek factory, because those wares were selling extremely well, and they thought, "We're gonna be able to do the same." So they started a line that they referred to as Belleek.
GUEST: Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER: It's not exactly the same as Irish Belleek, but it was this incredibly thin, very beautiful porcelain body.
GUEST: Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER: Very translucent.
GUEST: Uh-huh.
APPRAISER: And this is completely hand-done and painted. At auction, I would probably say something like between $1,500 and $2,500.
GUEST: Oh.
APPRAISER: And it's a really, really nice example of its type.
GUEST: Oh, well, thank you.
APPRAISER: Real treat to have you bring it in.
GUEST: Thank you.
