GUEST: I'm a junker, and I found this at an auction, and I bought it. Probably '98, '97.

APPRAISER: You paid how much for it?

GUEST: About $90.

APPRAISER: One of the first things that one does is identify the material. It's bronze.

GUEST: Is it from a mold that then was personalized?

APPRAISER: It would have been cast, it would have been cast.

GUEST: It was a cast?

APPRAISER: And then finished, chased, by hand.

GUEST: Right.

APPRAISER: And as we go to the other side, we'll see that in fact, this was quite resplendent at one time, because you can see...

GUEST: Oh, the gilding.

APPRAISER: ...the remnants of gilding on the back. This does rub off, and you would have people who were devotees who would come and...

GUEST: And touch her?

APPRAISER: And touch it.

GUEST: Oh, okay.

APPRAISER: Touch the figure. What happens over a period of hundreds of years is, that gold, which is very, very thin...

GUEST: Wears off.

APPRAISER: Wears away. And you'll notice one place that it hasn't worn away is the face.

GUEST: Ah.

APPRAISER: Because you don't touch people's faces.

GUEST: You don't touch the face.

APPRAISER: The other aspect of this-- it's a clue to what the figure is-- is this, the tablet. It's a form called a hu. So, if you were going back to China...

GUEST: Uh-huh.

APPRAISER: And this is Chinese.

GUEST: It is Chinese, okay.

APPRAISER: And you were trying to have a petition to a regional authority...

GUEST: Okay.

APPRAISER: ...or even to the emperor, you would go with a tablet on which would be written issues that were of concern to you that you wanted to petition that authority with.

GUEST: Wow.

APPRAISER: And it was kind of a formal type of presentation. But it also rose beyond this earthly realm, and it would go to a higher authority.

GUEST: Huh.

APPRAISER: Which is the Queen Mother of the West, Xiwangmu.

GUEST: Wow.

APPRAISER: And so this would be in someone's Taoist temple setting.

GUEST: Okay.

APPRAISER: It's a Taoist figure. So, this is a, a rarer example, dating probably somewhere between the 16th, 17th century.

GUEST: Wow! I wasn't going to say, "Wow." Um...

APPRAISER: (laughing)

GUEST: Why was there wax underneath it?

APPRAISER: Well, that's something we're going to share. And that's also a puzzle, because someone put wax with a candle wick in the base. And the only thing I can think is, this was not a good idea.

GUEST: (laughs)

APPRAISER: It provides no support for the metal.

GUEST: No.

APPRAISER: Which is quite strong.

GUEST: Right.

APPRAISER: And I don't think it's damaged the figure at all, because it is wax, and I think it's going to come out.

GUEST: I wouldn't remove it. Yeah.

APPRAISER: Not something that we advise anyone to do. What do you think this would be worth today?

GUEST: Maybe $500?

APPRAISER: I think it's more likely $4,000 to $6,000 at auction.

GUEST: Oh, really? Oh, ooh!