'Antiques Roadshow' guest struggles to believe that father's jade collection is worth $1 million
Jewelry and artifacts left behind by loved ones are priceless, but when these items get unprecedented monetary value on "Antiques Roadshow," a person can feel a range of emotions at the same time. That's probably why a guest on the show was finding it hard to believe that her father's old jade collection could be worth over $1 million. The guest who brought a collection of Qianlong Jade carvings from the 18th century confessed she had no idea about the significance of the items. Thus, the show's expert James Callahan enlightened her on the items, some of which had imperial roots, before sharing the jaw-dropping $710,000 to $1,070,000 appraisal.
In the episode, the guest shared how her father got into collecting imperial jade items, which led to her inheriting the collection. "My father was in China in the late 30s and during the 40s with the army, and he was a liaison of some sort. He was a Kentucky Cowboy, but he learned to speak Chinese, and he met a person called Mr Lian," she shared. She further added that it was Mr Lian who got her father into collecting Chinese items, and he would call him once in a while, talking about items he might be interested in.
Callahan noted that Mr Lian would have been a great friend of the guest's father, as he got him some of the finest items. He noted that most items from Imperial China that come to the market are of poor quality, but the items in front of him were top-notch. He then asked his guest if she had any idea what the value of the pieces could be, to which the guest told him that she knew one of the items, which they called "the dragon bowl," had imperial links, and she was told it could be worth a lot of money. Callahan then went on to explain the provenance of the items and the great craftsmanship. He estimated that most of the items were made between 1735 and 1796, during the Qianlong period.
He explained that the thin bowl was made in the "Indian Mughal" style and was of top quality. Pointing to one of the sculptures, the expert noted that it was of an animal called "Bixie," who was believed to ward off evil. He then noted that the large bowl had imperial inscriptions at the bottom, which read "By imperial order," meaning that it was made "specifically for the emperor himself". However, it was extremely difficult to date the item, and the entire inscription wasn't readable.
The appraiser then went on to share the estimated value of the items, one by one. Starting from the smaller bowl, Callahan conservatively estimated that it was worth about $30,000 to $50,000. While this left the guest in shock, the expert had tons more in store. Coming to the second item, he put a conservative estimate of $80,000 to $120,000 on the vase. Moving on to the Bixie, he estimated that it could be worth a jaw-dropping $200,000 to $300,000. At this point, the guest was in complete shock and denial as she kept repeating, "I can't believe you!" while looking at the expert.
Turns out, Callahan had saved the best for last, as he revealed that the imperial bowl could be worth a whopping $400,000 to $600,000. He then repeated that his estimate of $700,000 - $1,070,000 was "conservative," meaning the items could fetch more. The owner was stunned by the estimate, and she only said, "I can't believe this," repeatedly.
In the end, the lady thanked Callahan for the appraisal as he noted that her father had really curated a great collection. The expert further noted that the buyer couldn't have spent more than $100 on the items, as he bought them in the 1900s when such items were cheap.
