WEBVTT 00:02.033 --> 00:04.133 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% GUEST: It seems to be an antique bowl. I bought it at a, sort of a charity auction about five 00:04.133 --> 00:09.066 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% or six years ago. They called it a silver-tone dragon bowl. I was born in 1976, and so that's, 00:11.066 --> 00:15.400 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% that's the year of the dragon in the Chinese zodiac. So, I've always kind of kept a lookout 00:15.400 --> 00:18.433 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% for dragons, and I have a few of them. I find them very interesting. 00:18.433 --> 00:20.533 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70% APPRAISER: Oh, I see. 00:20.533 --> 00:22.833 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% GUEST: So, I work with some people from China. And they always say that it's one of the more 00:22.833 --> 00:24.866 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% powerful symbols in the zodiac. 00:24.866 --> 00:29.533 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% APPRAISER: It's a Chinese export silver punch bowl. It's made by a company called Wang Hing. 00:31.466 --> 00:35.400 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% They were established in Canton in 1854, and due to their enormous success, opened up in 00:37.933 --> 00:41.933 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% Hong Kong in the early part of the 20th century. I think this bowl dates from after they opened 00:43.166 --> 00:44.900 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% up in Hong Kong in the early 20th century. 00:44.900 --> 00:46.966 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60% GUEST: Okay. 00:46.966 --> 00:50.066 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% APPRAISER: Obviously, the trade routes really started to open up in the late 19th century, 00:50.066 --> 00:55.033 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% and the appetite for Chinese export silver became a lot greater as that trade sort of 00:57.133 --> 01:00.200 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% opened up and tastes became a little bit more exotic, let's say. We've got these wonderful 01:00.200 --> 01:04.433 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% dragons. Now, these are separately cast and applied to the bowl. The bowl itself is raised 01:04.433 --> 01:08.800 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% up on a form, as it would be normally, and then these dragons are cast separately. The 01:08.800 --> 01:13.500 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% interesting sort of motif on this, as you've probably seen, is the flaming pearl in the 01:13.500 --> 01:14.500 align:left position:40% line:89% size:50% center. 01:14.500 --> 01:16.433 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60% GUEST: Hm. 01:16.433 --> 01:18.600 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% APPRAISER: So the dragon chasing the flaming pearl is something which you see a lot on 01:18.600 --> 01:22.600 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% Chinese decorative arts. So, you often see these dragons in clouds, and appearing across 01:22.600 --> 01:26.433 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% the sky and all kinds of things, chasing this, this flaming pearl. It's a very, very common 01:26.433 --> 01:31.433 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% motif in Chinese decorative arts-- textiles and export silver like we see here. We tip 01:33.433 --> 01:36.733 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% it back... We've got the "W.H." for Wang Hing. We've got the 90 there, which is the sterling 01:39.200 --> 01:43.700 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% silver standard mark. And we've got the character mark for silver in Chinese, as well. So all 01:45.800 --> 01:48.433 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% in all, a fantastic bowl. Very, very collectible. The market for Chinese export silver has grown 01:48.433 --> 01:52.233 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% exponentially in the last, let's say, five to ten years. So, you said you bought it at 01:52.233 --> 01:54.666 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% a charity auction? It was a silver-tone bowl, Chinese-style? 01:54.666 --> 01:59.633 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% GUEST: Right, you know, I think, if I remember correctly, I think I paid about, about $600 02:00.600 --> 02:01.566 align:left position:40% line:89% size:50% for it. 02:01.566 --> 02:02.566 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60% APPRAISER: $600? 02:02.566 --> 02:03.600 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% GUEST: Yeah. Not too long ago-- 02:03.600 --> 02:05.100 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% APPRAISER: not too long ago. 02:05.100 --> 02:07.133 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% GUEST: Yeah, about five or six years I've had it. 02:07.133 --> 02:11.333 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% APPRAISER: The auction estimate for this bowl, if it was to be in a well-advertised sale, 02:12.533 --> 02:15.766 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% would comfortably sit at $10,000 to $15,000. 02:15.766 --> 02:19.300 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% GUEST: Wow. That's pretty major. 02:19.300 --> 02:21.166 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% APPRAISER: Congratulations for having it. 02:21.166 --> 02:22.633 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% GUEST: Thank you so much, David, I appreciate it.