GUEST: When we bought our house about five years ago, this was hanging over the fireplace in the family room.

APPRAISER: And it wheels here? It rolls?

GUEST: Yeah, it has... it has caster wheels that the previous owner had it mounted on a rail and he could move it back and forth to access the electrical panels and the chimney flue-- that kind of thing-- from the fireplace.

APPRAISER: That is so... I've never heard about that. That's really great.

GUEST: Yeah, he was a pretty ingenious guy, I guess.

APPRAISER: Yeah. This panel is really interesting because it was made by the American Encaustic Tile Company of Zanesville, Ohio, which is very close by.

GUEST: Oh, yeah, yeah.

APPRAISER: It's unusual because of its large size but also because of the size of the tiles that make it.

GUEST: Oh, okay.

APPRAISER: Usually if you have a large panel made up of tiles, they're all six inches, almost all the time.

GUEST: Six-inch square?

APPRAISER: Six-inch square. And so these are like a very '20s type of size.

GUEST: Oh, okay.

APPRAISER: And also because it's not decorated in the customary Victorian American encaustic type of style which is molded, which you usually see. This is hand-painted in the Delft style.

GUEST: In the Delft style, okay.

APPRAISER: And I don't know if you're familiar with Delft. It's a city in Holland. They've been producing pots and tiles and mostly tin-glazed in blue and white, just like this.

GUEST: Oh, really?

APPRAISER: So this is America Encaustic's version of the very famous Delft tiles that have been exported all over the world for centuries. So it's a really nice statement.

GUEST: Yeah.

APPRAISER: And you told me that this small tile here comes off, right?

GUEST: Yes.

APPRAISER: And we can see a mark back here. So I'm going to show this here, right here. And that says "A.E. Tile Co."

GUEST: Yes, yes.

APPRAISER: For the American Encaustic Tile Company.

GUEST: Hmm, interesting.

APPRAISER: And because this panel is so large, I would value this at somewhere between $1,500 and $2,000.

GUEST: Hmm, not bad.

APPRAISER: Not bad at all.

GUEST: Not bad for something that was hanging in your basement. (chuckles)