GUEST: The baskets have been in my family for quite a few years. My father was an avid collector of Indian baskets and whatever. And in his early years-- probably around 14, 15, 16-- he did spend some time working at the Indian museum up in Sacramento. So he was like a volunteer... He was a volunteer. And from there that's where he got his interest in this.
APPRAISER: Do you know where they came from?
GUEST: From what my father said, these are Pomo baskets and that's about it. So he must have gotten these things pretty early in the game. Probably around the 1930s.
APPRAISER: Well, three of them are Pomo; one of them's not. The one closest to you is Pomo from California. The pendants on it are abalone shell and then it has little quail topknots and feathers scattered out all over it. The one on this end that's beaded is also Pomo, and the beads are woven into the fibers of the basket. And they're quite beautiful. They're elegant designs. All of these baskets are in good to very excellent condition. The red one is covered with feathers. The black ones are quail topknot, and it's one of the most desirable colored baskets on the market today.
GUEST: Really?
APPRAISER: The interesting thing is, it's... it's feathered all over.
GUEST: Right.
APPRAISER: And usually when we see these, the feathers are long gone-- the bugs have eaten them; they're just in bad shape. They sell all the time. Whether or not they fall under endangered species, I don't know, and that could affect the value of the basket. Like I say, I see them come up for sale all the time, but I don't really know the status of the birds that contributed to these baskets. The large basket, this one here, it's Washoe. Different group, western Nevada.
GUEST: Who made it?
APPRAISER: I don't know. I don't know enough about these baskets-- it's so specialized it's almost a science. These prices, they're what I would expect these things to sell for at auction. The one closest to you is $2,500 to $3,500.
GUEST: Wow, very nice.
APPRAISER: This one is $4,000 to $6,000. Wow. And this one is $2,500 to $3,500 also. This one, as is, with no information, is $6,000 to $8,000.
GUEST: Unbelievable.
APPRAISER: So, the grand total would be $15,000 to $21,000 for the four baskets.
GUEST: That's incredible. Thank you very much for the information. I appreciate it.
