GUEST: During the Depression, my aunt was,
started buying up these vases from Tiffany's, so I guess she ordered some by the crate-load. APPRAISER: On the side, it actually says,
"Louis C. Tiffany Studios," with an address. GUEST: Mm-hmm. APPRAISER: And the crate in itself it's something
you don't see very often, with "glass" plastered all over the sides. But I also want to point out the straw, because
it's not often that people keep the shipping crates. So let's talk about what you have. The, the dates are very interesting because
the first piece of glass over here, which is what we would call pastel glass... GUEST: Mm-hmm. APPRAISER: is later-production Tiffany-- it
was made in the '20s... GUEST: Okay. APPRAISER: it was made in multiples... GUEST: Okay. APPRAISER: and it came in different colors--
it came in pinks, and blues, and yellow, and wisteria. These are the colors that you see in some
of the Depression glass of the era... GUEST: Mm-hmm. APPRAISER: but this was a lot more expensive
than your average piece of Depression glass. Now, this piece is a paperweight glass vase. GUEST: Mm-hmm. APPRAISER: Leslie Nash, who worked for Louis
Comfort Tiffany, claims that while they were working with paperweight glass, Louis Tiffany
himself, who was a painter, came into the glass-working shop, handed them a painting
of morning glories that he had painted, and said, "I want you to make this in glass." GUEST: Wow. APPRAISER: Supposedly, it took $12,000 in
R&D... GUEST: Mm-hmm. APPRAISER: to create this kind of glassware. 1914 is when they first introduced it. Your piece, on the bottom, actually says "exhibition
piece" on it. GUEST: Mm-hmm. APPRAISER: And I know from the date letter
on it, which is a suffix L, that that would be somewhere around 1915. GUEST: Okay. APPRAISER: So it's possible that this could've
gone to the 1915 San Francisco International Exhibition. GUEST: Okay. APPRAISER: I think it came back to the studios,
that's the interesting part. You may have seen vases like this. They're in many museums all over the world. GUEST: I think I saw one at the Met in New
York, mm-hmm. APPRAISER: Yes, and the one at the Met has
a number on the bottom, which is 1130-L. Yours is 1132-L. GUEST: Oh. APPRAISER: So this is two numbers after the
Met's vase. GUEST: Okay. APPRAISER: The Met acquired it in 1924, even
though it was probably made in 1915. So these things still were sold later. So just to give you an idea of value. The, the crate, in a retail setting, this
is something for Tiffany geeks everywhere-- collectors, museums. They would actually be very excited about
this, and it would be worth between $5,000 and $10,000. GUEST: Holy cow! APPRAISER: This piece, which is not as sought-after
as some of the other art glass... GUEST: Mm-hmm. APPRAISER: would retail probably between $2,000
and $3,000. But this piece, in a retail shop, it could
be sold for anywhere between $50,000 and $75,000. GUEST: No way! Oh, my gosh! I was... thinking maybe $8,000 to $10,000,
I was hoping. Wow. APPRAISER: Well, that was a long time ago. GUEST: Wow, I really didn't know what the
market had done, you know, if it had gone sideways or up or down, but... wow. (inhales) APPRAISER: So there's one other thing in here
that I want to talk about. This vase. This practically stopped my heart when I saw
it in the box. (giggling) This is the piece I was waiting
for for 20 years. GUEST: Oh, wow. APPRAISER: And what I can tell you is, every
night before the “ROADSHOW”, people would always say, "What is on your wish list? What would you like to come in to the show
tomorrow?" And I always say, "A Tiffany Lava vase." GUEST: Wow. APPRAISER: And that's what this is. It's extremely special. It is meant to look like molten lava... GUEST: Mm-hmm. APPRAISER: on the surface of the vase, and
this one is particularly interesting because you also have these protrusions here. And it's very similar to a vase that was shown
in the 1906 Paris Salon Exhibition. GUEST: Oh! APPRAISER: A very similar example is in the
collection of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, and it's been there since 1906. GUEST: Gee. APPRAISER: So when I saw this... I was kind of excited. (laughing) GUEST: Oh. APPRAISER: Well, the thing about Lava is,
it was very hard to make. They get cracked in the making. GUEST: Oh. APPRAISER: And I did go over your Lava with
my special light and a magnifying glass, and I couldn't find any imperfections. An example like this, in a retail shop, could
sell between $100,000 and $150,000. GUEST: (laughing) Where's my brother? He... (laughs) Wow. That's unbelievable. I had no idea. APPRAISER: I just can't believe that your
aunt bought all of this in the late '20s and the early '30s. GUEST: Yeah. APPRAISER: It's... it's pretty remarkable. GUEST: Yeah.
