'Antiques Roadshow' seller gets emotional after expert reveals value of his 130-year-old wooden club

A random piece of wood in the attic wouldn't seem like a valuable artifact just as a rock being used as a doorstep. But that's until someone has the bright idea to take it to "Antiques Roadshow," where an expert can take a closer look. In an earlier episode of the PBS version of the show, an elderly guest brought what seemed like a sort of a club with a face, shaped like a reptile, with leaf-like designs carved on it. The guest revealed that it had come into his mother’s possession when she bought a shore house north of New York City. Turns out that this object had far more historical significance than a piece of wood in the attic.

The expert revealed that this club-like item was common among the Penobscot Indians, an indigenous tribe who lived deep in the forests of Maine and Nova Scotia, Canada. He also said that before colonization, such clubs were used as war clubs, and smaller versions of the same were used by holy men of the time for their rituals. But as time passed by, the use of these clubs changed.

“As local native life changed over the centuries, men were no longer able to go to war or to hunt widely, they began to work with travellers, fishermen, and hunters who would come up on vacation. And they would make objects such as this to trade. So this became a cottage industry for indigenous men in Maine,” he explained.

The expert then delved into the finer details of the club. He noticed the chip carvings on its surface, especially the leaf-like patterns. He said that it was a common design among the Natives of the Woodlands, who would use a knife to make such patterns. “Everything were about threes which were reverent. Indigenous people actually felt that the spirits of their ancestors resided in trees, so they had a great deal of reverence for them,” he added.

He then turned his attention to the face carved on the top of the club and appreciated the craftsmanship that went into it. It seemed like the face of an indigenous man with face paint on, meaning that this person was presumably a legendary Penobscot warrior. “This is really a well-accomplished carving. The face is dramatic, it doesn’t look cartoonish. It has a certain stern or severe aspect to it,” he said.

The expert also appreciated the reptile carving on the other side of the club, stating that it could be depicting a salamander, an animal that thrived both on land and in water. After they were done appreciating the object, it was now time to place a valuation on it. Given its historical significance and incredible craftsmanship, the club was valued at $2,000. “If I was going to insure it, I would appraise it at $2,500,” the expert added.

The guest choked up when he heard this since this club had been a big part of his life. “It’s been a big part of my life. I’ve always had it around. It touches me because really it was my mother’s. She had it, kept it. So it’s part of her, it’s part of me,” he said, holding back the tears.