GUEST: Well, I know it as a chocolate pot. I don't know very much about it. I suspected it was Majolica, but somebody said, "No, it isn't." So I don't know. I'm up in the air about it.

APPRAISER: Well, actually, it's earlier than Majolica. The ware is known as bargeware, or canal ware. And in England in the 19th century, lots of people lived on barges in the various canals in London and all around the country, and they painted them these bright colors and had pots of beautiful hanging flowers. But one of the problems about living on a barge is lots of breakage occurs. So you have this ware called bargeware which is big, it's heavy, it's got a broad base, and it's designed so that if the boat's rocking, it's not going to fall over. A lot of times, they're made for people. This one has a name on the front, and it's dated 1887. The finial, which is adorable-- the little miniature pot-- happens to be fairly typical of the ware. And the design, it's colorful relief. As you go around, they painted it with various flowers and birds that you'd have in the area of the canals. So these things were lots of fun. And more than anything else, you find these big pots--- whether they were made for coffee or tea-- you don't find much in the way of table wares. Unfortunately, if you look along the gallery and along the cover, there's been a fair amount of damage and restoration. And it's not unusual to find them damaged. People used them. A pot like this normally, I assume you want to know, would sell for in the $1,200 to $1,500 range. But in its present condition, I would say it's worth about $600 to $800. And it's a really charming example.

GUEST: It's very interesting.