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GUEST: It's a brass, uh, 
Chinese, I believe, uh, bowl 
that came from my great-aunt.

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The family story is that she was 
married to a, a doctor, and that 
there was sometimes

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that she had actually bartered 
for goods for services during 
the Depression.

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APPRAISER: It's Chinese, so at 
least you're right on the 
first...

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GUEST: Right about the...

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APPRAISER: ...on the first part, 
but to, to describe it as a bowl 
is...

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You're part of the way there.

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GUEST: Okay.

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APPRAISER: This is actually a, a 
vessel that's used for ritual 
purpose.

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Okay.

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We call this a censer, and a 
censer is just another way of 
saying it's an incense burner.

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Let's picture this vessel, which 
is bronze, not, not brass.

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GUEST: Brass, mm-hmm.

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APPRAISER: Chinese bronzes made 
for ritual purpose go back kind 
of prehistory, 2,000,

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3,000 years BC.

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So in China, maybe 1000, 1500 
BC, they were making ritual 
vessels of this general square

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form, and that would 
be called a fang-ding.

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This is not from 1000 BC.

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GUEST: (chuckling)

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APPRAISER: This is something 
that follows in a long 
tradition.

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GUEST: (murmurs) Right.

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APPRAISER: This is more for a 
home shrine, perhaps, or it 
could be for a, for a scholar's

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studio.

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I'm gonna lift up the bottom to 
show a mark that you've 
certainly seen, and, and 
probably

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wondered about-- this 
is Ming Dynasty.

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Da Ming actually 
means "Great Ming."

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Xuande is the emperor's name.

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And then this is nian zhi, which 
just means "period made."

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GUEST: (murmurs)

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APPRAISER: Now, that's a, 
that's a 15th-century emperor.

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GUEST: Okay.

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APPRAISER: But this was 
not made in that period.

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In fact, this is what we would 
refer to as an honorific mark.

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GUEST: Right.

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APPRAISER: The reason it has a 
15th-century imperial mark on it 
is because that's a period

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that epitomized just a, a high 
point in bronze production.

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The Xuande emperor was 
a devout Buddhist.

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In his period, many vessels of 
this type were made to go into 
Buddhist temples all throughout

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China.

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And so this form is 
synonymous with, with Xuande.

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I think it was likely made at 
the tail end of the 17th 
century.

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GUEST: Okay.

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APPRAISER: So it still 
has considerable age.

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Right.

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But not as old as the 
mark would suggest.

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There are a few issues as, 
as far as condition goes.

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I know from looking at it that 
this surface has been polished 
at some point.

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GUEST: Yes-- not by me.

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APPRAISER: You... (laughs) Okay!

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GUEST: It was actually, when, 
when I acquired it from my, my 
great-aunt, it, it, it sat

51
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on the mantel, and it, yes, it 
was a, it was a very shiny 
piece, so...

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APPRAISER: (chuckles) Okay, it, 
it should have a burnished, kind 
of patinated surface.

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Now, I'm happy to say that the 
patination has come back a 
little bit.

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This is not as shiny as 
I'm sure it once was.

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GUEST: No, not at all.

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APPRAISER: And so keeping 
that, that's good.

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What I do see, though, 
throughout, is this sort of 
green verdigris, or, or 
otherwise,

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we would call this 
bronze disease.

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GUEST: Okay.

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APPRAISER: And this has 
something to do, probably with, 
it, it could be a matter of 
humidity

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in the air, it could be a matter 
of this getting wet, or just 
being exposed to, to something

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that the br, isn't 
good for the bronze.

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I would suggest that this be 
taken to a conservator just to 
get this cleaned off.

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These sorts of vessels really 
resonate with Chinese 
collectors.

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They represent a history of 
ritual, a history of 
scholarship.

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And so the market for these 
is very strong right now.

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Do you have any idea 
what this is worth?

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Or have you ever suspected what 
it may be worth on the market?

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GUEST: Not really, I mean, we, 
we guessed at maybe, $2,500 or 
$3,000, something like

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that.

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So

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APPRAISER: You're not 
terribly far off.

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I think at auction, I would put 
a, what may be a conservative 
auction estimate, in, in

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2021, of $5,000 to 
$8,000 for its sale.

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00:03:14,027 --> 00:03:16,629
Okay.

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If the patina had been left 
alone, and it had the original 
sort of beautiful brown patina,

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I think a value of perhaps 
$30,000 would not be out of the 
question.

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GUEST: Wow.

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Yeah, that's crazy.

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Just that from her polishing 
it at some point.

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APPRAISER: I'm afraid so!

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(laughs)