'Antiques Roadshow' guest left in disbelief after hearing the staggering value of his Chinese cups

The cups were made thousands of years back and so regulations were not an issue as per the expert.

PUBLISHED MAY 8, 2025

Screenshots showing the collection and the guest's reaction to the appraisal (Cover image source: Antiques Roadshow PBS)

People who come to "Antiques Roadshow" do expect that the items they consider valuable could be worth a lot more than their estimates. But sometimes the appraisers deliver such a massive valuation that the most over-the-top reaction from guests seems appropriate. Chinese art expert, Lark Mason, gave such an appraisal after coming across a set of cups made out of the horns of a Rhinoceros. The guest who collected the cups over the course of a few years, paying about five thousand dollars for the collection, got a record appraisal on the show worth a total of $1,000,000 to $1,500,000.

Screenshot showing the expert, the collection and the guest on the show (Image source: Antiques Roadshow PBS)

In the episode, the guest shared that he first started collecting Rhinoceros carvings back in the 1970s. He first came across a Rhinoceros cup on a trip to an antiques store in Bath, England, and then it became a hobby for him to collect more cups made of the same material. "I kind of grew on me, so through a few auction houses, antique dealers, and private individuals, I acquired the rest of them," he told Mason. He further shared that when he bought the cups, they were still affordable.

Mason then took over to explain that all of the cups were made in the 70s and the 80s, and they were for specific ceremonial purposes. Examining the cups, Mason told the guest that the carvings were quite remarkable as they represented many mythical signs of ancient China, and the detailing was phenomenal on the items.

Screenshot showing the collection of cups (Image source: Antiques Roadshow PBS)

He added that the cups were made for the affluent during significant occasions, during a period when rhinoceros horn was believed to hold mystical properties. He noted that many of the cups were shaped as ancient ritualistic vessels, which is a remarkable feature that makes them highly collectible. "All these figures of immortals on the side are remarkable! You can actually see the details of the facial features," he noted, looking at one of the cups.

Screenshot showing the expert examining a cup (Image source: Antiques Roadshow PBS)

Moving on to another cup, Mason explained that it was in the shape of a lotus and it had a naturalistic shape of the stem, which is rare to see. "Each one of these says something to me, and I know they say something to you as well!" he said, looking at the guest. The expert then asked the owner about how much he paid for the individual cups, back when he acquired them. The guest explained that one of the cups cost $8,000, while another cost him $3,000.

Before sharing the appraisal, Mason explained that the value of cups may be affected by the various rules and regulations surrounding the protection of rhinoceros horns, as they are an endangered species. However, he estimated that the rules do not apply to the items that were created thousands of years ago.

Screenshot showing Mason talking about the collection (Image source: Antiques Roadshow PBS)

"I believe a conservative number for this collection would be between $1 million and $1.5 million," Mason told the guest. The owner was shocked to hear the number as he asked, "Are you serious?" in disbelief. When the expert assured him of the value, he said, "Well, I don't have to worry about social security anymore! Thank you for making my century!"

While the appraisal on the show was quite high, the item kind of flopped when they finally appeared at an auction. In an update shared by PBS, it was revealed that three of the five cups failed to find buyers at the Sotheby's auction, and two cups were sold for an amount below the estimates.