GUEST: It was in a local ad. I
think, anyways, it's referred
to as a Chinese carriage or

wagon from the Qing dynasty,
if I'm not mistaken.

APPRAISER: You're right
on target, it is Qing.

GUEST: Okay.

APPRAISER: So that means
it dates to somewhere
before 1911 in China...

GUEST: Okay.

APPRAISER: ...and after the
Ming dynasty. And in my opinion,
based on the appearance,

the construction, this would
date to the 19th century.

GUEST: Okay.

APPRAISER: Which is really
quite unusual-- these had hard
wear. And you can see that

it's had a hard life.
That's not what it looked
like when it was built.

GUEST: Right.

APPRAISER: This was lacquered,
and you can still see traces
of burgundy lacquer on it,

and also black lacquer.

GUEST: Yeah.

APPRAISER: And on the underside
of the ceiling in there is a
finely woven bamboo mat that

is put to the ceiling on top
of which is this thick lacquer
surface to make it waterproof,

which we need on
a day like today.

GUEST: Okay.

APPRAISER: All this would
have been likely black,
burgundy, and gilt lacquer.

GUEST: Interesting.

APPRAISER: This was not
meant for your average person
to be carted around town.

GUEST: Oh.

APPRAISER: The thick iron
bands on the edge of the wheel
was to withstand the wear and

tear of going over rough
cobblestone, potholed streets at
the time, which would have been

thick with mud on a day like
today. And on the inside, what
we see through here you would

not have seen through here.
This would have been lined
with beautifully painted paper

or silk.

GUEST: Okay.

APPRAISER: Part of it opened
with a curtain right there that
could be pulled back so the

person could take a look.
What'd you pay for this?

GUEST: I paid $125.

APPRAISER: Oh, my gosh,
you got a great deal. There
are very few of these that

are in good condition. So I
think that for this particular
one, a realistic price is

going to be in the $1,000 to
$2,000 range in an auction sale.

GUEST: Okay.

APPRAISER: But it's got to be
to an audience of people that
recognize the difference between

those that are modern
reproduction, those
that were made for
transport of somebody of

elevated stature, and
those that were authentic
but made for transporting
commercial products.

This is the very best of that
type. It's just unfortunate
that the decoration is gone.

GUEST: Right, right, it's
worn. Interesting, okay.