1 00:00:02,202 --> 00:00:03,403 GUEST: My parents and, and family are from Norfolk, 2 00:00:06,006 --> 00:00:11,678 and they spent, uh, 30-something years in the Panama Canal Zone, and when my mother retired-- 3 00:00:11,678 --> 00:00:17,417 my father passed away there-- she came back to Norfolk. And at one point, a friend of hers named 4 00:00:17,417 --> 00:00:21,054 Toots-- really Roberta, but she was always Toots-- who was a widow, and had no children, 5 00:00:23,289 --> 00:00:27,127 needed surgery, and my mother said, "Come to my house, you can recuperate there, 6 00:00:29,362 --> 00:00:34,234 and I'll help you out." And, um, in gratitude, Toots gave my mother this cellarette, 7 00:00:36,836 --> 00:00:42,308 and I inherited it from my mother. Now, Toots's family was from around Edenton, North Carolina. 8 00:00:45,078 --> 00:00:49,716 What I'm interested in finding out is, was it made here or was it imported from England? 9 00:00:49,716 --> 00:00:55,522 APPRAISER: Well, as it happens, the person who made this cellarette, um, 10 00:00:55,522 --> 00:01:00,427 made another cellarette that is on a pedestal in the museum at Colonial Williamsburg. 11 00:01:00,427 --> 00:01:01,194 GUEST: That's fascinating. (laughs) 12 00:01:01,194 --> 00:01:03,897 APPRAISER: So if you get tired of looking at your example... 13 00:01:03,897 --> 00:01:04,864 GUEST: I... 14 00:01:04,864 --> 00:01:08,268 APPRAISER: ...you can go to the, the grand galleries at 15 00:01:08,268 --> 00:01:10,670 Colonial Williamsburg and see one that were made by the same hands. 16 00:01:10,670 --> 00:01:13,706 GUEST: I will definitely, definitely do that. Amazing. 17 00:01:13,706 --> 00:01:15,308 APPRAISER: So you have a, you have a very special object here. 18 00:01:15,308 --> 00:01:16,609 GUEST: Wow. 19 00:01:16,609 --> 00:01:20,713 APPRAISER: And the history of this piece is really tied into 20 00:01:20,713 --> 00:01:24,818 the history of Eastern North Carolina. The Edenton area, where Toots's family was from... 21 00:01:24,818 --> 00:01:26,486 GUEST: Yeah. 22 00:01:26,486 --> 00:01:32,025 APPRAISER: ...is home base for this object. This has beautiful figured walnut in the top. 23 00:01:32,025 --> 00:01:37,363 Um, and it has this distinctive light wood inlay that sort of frames that crotch walnut 24 00:01:37,363 --> 00:01:43,870 here. And remarkably, for all of these that I have seen, it is extremely rare to find 25 00:01:43,870 --> 00:01:47,740 original bottles. So when Toots passed this on, these three blown glass bottles came with it? 26 00:01:47,740 --> 00:01:49,576 GUEST: Yes. 27 00:01:49,576 --> 00:01:54,514 APPRAISER: It's hard to prove or disprove that they didn't start life in this cellarette. 28 00:01:54,514 --> 00:01:58,017 GUEST: Right here, yeah. APPRAISER: Um, the, the object 29 00:01:58,017 --> 00:02:05,525 is in great condition. It has its original hinges, its original lock. Um, it's walnut top to bottom. 30 00:02:05,525 --> 00:02:10,363 The nice thing here is, like, if you have the only one of something, everybody sort of scratches 31 00:02:10,363 --> 00:02:14,801 their head and says, "Hm, like, why aren't there more of those?" But when you have a great example 32 00:02:14,801 --> 00:02:20,874 that fits into a known group, the market tends to really salute. If this were to come up at auction, 33 00:02:20,874 --> 00:02:24,511 I would put a pre-sale auction estimate of $50,000 to $70,000 on it. 34 00:02:24,511 --> 00:02:27,547 GUEST: Holy crow. (both laughing) 35 00:02:27,547 --> 00:02:30,750 APPRAISER: So I think, like, what comes to my mind is karma. 36 00:02:30,750 --> 00:02:32,652 GUEST: Yes! 37 00:02:32,652 --> 00:02:39,692 APPRAISER: You know? So your family did something helpful and kind to Toots's family. 38 00:02:39,692 --> 00:02:43,129 GUEST: Right, right. And that's a pretty nice thank you. 39 00:02:43,129 --> 00:02:45,231 APPRAISER: It's a real treasure and it's, it's a, it's a treat to see it here... 40 00:02:45,231 --> 00:02:46,399 GUEST: Well... 41 00:02:46,399 --> 00:02:49,536 APPRAISER: ...under the beautiful sky here in Williamsburg, and the, 42 00:02:49,536 --> 00:02:51,838 the light out here just... All the warmth of that walnut... 43 00:02:51,838 --> 00:02:53,039 GUEST: Right. 44 00:02:53,039 --> 00:02:55,675 APPRAISER: ...and all the history that this object carries with it is... 45 00:02:55,675 --> 00:02:57,944 GUEST: This would fit right in there. (laughing) 46 00:02:57,944 --> 00:03:00,413 APPRAISER: It sure would. It's quite the backdrop, isn't it? 47 00:03:00,413 --> 00:03:01,848 GUEST: It is! 48 00:03:01,848 --> 00:03:03,483 APPRAISER: For insurance, I would value it at $125,000.