ECONOMY & WORK
MONEY 101
NEWS
PERSONAL FINANCE
NET WORTH
About Us Contact Us Privacy Policy Terms of Use DMCA Opt-out of personalized ads
© Copyright 2023 Market Realist. Market Realist is a registered trademark. All Rights Reserved. People may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.
MARKETREALIST.COM / ECONOMY & WORK

'Antiques Roadshow' guest stunned after hearing the value of her snuff bottle: 'You're kidding...'

The guest had no idea what the bottle was worth or even what was paid for it when it was bought.
PUBLISHED JUN 3, 2025
Screenshot showing the guest (L) and the expert on "Antiques Roadshow." (Cover image source: YouTube | Antiques Roadshow PBS)
Screenshot showing the guest (L) and the expert on "Antiques Roadshow." (Cover image source: YouTube | Antiques Roadshow PBS)

A simple item which people may be using every day at home could go on to fetch a massive appraisal, and that's what makes “Antiques Roadshow” so popular. This was seen when a guest walked in with a tiny bottle, which impressed the expert Richard Cervantes. He said that it was a snuff bottle that was made in the 18th century, which would make it about 200-300 years old. The most interesting part of it was that it had a two-step manufacturing procedure.

The expert said that the snuff bottle was made in China, where it was illegal to smoke during the Qing Dynasty. However, the emperor had said that if one wished to consume tobacco, one had to do so using a snuff bottle. Therefore, the production of such bottles at the time was rising. While the bottle was originally made in China, the embellishments on it were made farther east in Japan.

Cervantes said that the plain white jade bottle wasn’t good enough for the owner, and it found its way into Japan, where the decorations were added. It was a two-step process. The scene embellished on the bottle was a depiction of the Japanese countryside, and it showed a child bringing some Lingzhi fungus, which was considered a lucky symbol to have on the bottle. The elements that were used to decorate the bottle were soapstone, hard stone, lapis lazuli, lacquer, and seed pearls, as per the expert.

Screenshot showing the bottle on
Screenshot showing the bottle on "Antiques Roadshow." (Image source: YouTube | Antiques Roadshow PBS)

Before the bottle's appraisal, Cervantes asked the guest if it had ever been valued in the past. She said no and revealed that she had no idea how much her great aunt, who had originally purchased it from her travels far east, paid for it. The segment was recorded in 2016, and at the time, the expert said that the bottle had a conservative value of $4,000 to $6,000.



 

This wasn't the first time that such an item got a high valuation, and another example of this happening was when a woman brought a vase that she always thought was ugly. She had purchased it 15 years before the segment was recorded, and at the time, had paid $580 for it. What she did not know was that the vase was a Jean Cocteau Ceramic Sculpture.

"We call it the ugly thing or the ugly vase. I bought it about 15 years ago. I'm never sure if it's a pregnant woman or if she's getting to topple over. It's a weird little piece. I liked it when I saw it," she had said. The expert on that occasion, Suzzane Perrault, said, “It has animal, it has bird, it has female figural. All of this is happening in this piece of glazed ceramic that was done by a very famous artist called Jean Cocteau."



 

When it was time to appraise the item, the expert said that it was worth a whopping $10,000 to $15,000. The guest wasn’t expecting this at all. "That's fun, for an ugly vase. Perfect. Wonderful, thank you," she said.

MORE ON MARKET REALIST
The guest said that she doesn't even let her children play with the toys to preserve them.
33 minutes ago
The item might have been worth more, but no one had any idea of how much it could sell for.
1 day ago
Mr. Wonderful did not hold anything back as he even called the entrepreneurs bad at marketing.
1 day ago
The player couldn't believe that she had aced the "Grand Game" of the show.
1 day ago
Cuban beat offers from Lori Greiner and Kevin O'Leary to add the company to his portfolio.
1 day ago
Rick Harrison wanted to pay less than a thousand bucks at first, but the guest was a tough negotiator.
2 days ago
The contestant had a good start to the game but things did not end all that well.
2 days ago
The guest inherited the jewels from her mother and then found out that they were Cartier products.
2 days ago
The host Pat Sajak was seen standing with a broom while the contestant was celebrating.
3 days ago
The contestant wasn't able to match the excitement with his performance.
3 days ago
The guest said that there was so much more that she hadn't even brought to the show.
3 days ago
This wasn't the first time that an appraisal by an expert worked in favor of the seller.
3 days ago
The contestant seemed to be going through the emotions even before the results were revealed.
3 days ago
As per the guest, even her father had no idea where the piece of jewelry came from.
4 days ago
The contestant was supposed to name a deceased artist who they'd like to see perform as a hologram.
4 days ago
The shoes were apparently the same ones Ali wore in the iconic Thrilla in Manila fight in 1975.
5 days ago
The guest had no idea about the value of what he possessed and was concerned about it being fake.
5 days ago
This was perhaps one of the cruelest Bonus Round puzzles that the show has seen in a while.
5 days ago
The woman also shared her personal opinion about effect of flavorings on the brain.
5 days ago
The 51-year-old will have Hollywood star Matt Damon as partner, and Jimmy Kimmel as host.
6 days ago