GUEST: Well, this has, uh, has been in my family for quite a few years.

And it was in a family before that that we, we were closely associated with, in friendship.

And, uh, I've taken care of it for, uh, 65, 70 years now-- I've been... APPRAISER: So it actually belonged to your grandfather.

GUEST: That's right.

APPRAISER: And where was he living at the time that... GUEST: Uh, Kaufman, Texas.

APPRAISER: In Kaufman, Texas.

GUEST: Uh-huh, yeah, that's right.

APPRAISER: And your f, and your feeling was that it was, uh, it was maybe Cherokee from Oklahoma?

GUEST: Yes, that's, that is correct, uh-huh.

It's-- buffalo hide is one of the main, uh, features of it.

And the fine quillwork that's on it has, uh... I've had a, uh, Blackfoot Indian check this very carefully, and they said they've never seen a finer quillwork than this, on this piece here.

APPRAISER: It's not buffalo hide.

It's moose hide.

GUEST: Moose hide.

APPRAISER: It's moose hide.

GUEST: Oh, all right.

APPRAISER: And it is not actually, uh, Cherokee from Oklahoma.

GUEST: Uh-huh.

APPRAISER: It's actually either Cree or Athabascan from the Can, interior of Canada.

GUEST: Oh, for goodness sake.

APPRAISER: This particular type of, of what we call loom quillwork... GUEST: Uh-huh.

APPRAISER: ...is especially fine.

GUEST: Oh, for goodness sake.

APPRAISER: Um, these, these panels, which we, we find starting to be made in the earlier part, uh, of the 18th century... GUEST: Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER: ...continued that tradition, and continued all the way up into the 19th century.

GUEST: Oh, yes, uh-huh.

APPRAISER: As you know, to gather these individual porcupine quills and flatten them between your teeth... GUEST: Uh-huh.

APPRAISER: ...uh, and then to, to get the dyes and dye all the individual porcupine quills... GUEST: Right, oh, yes.

APPRAISER: ...was an enormous job.

GUEST: Oh, I'll bet.

APPRAISER: And so, these particular geometric panels here are, are exquisitely done.

GUEST: Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER: As you can notice, the, the epaulets are actually f, somewhat finer than the central panel.

GUEST: Oh, yes, hm.

APPRAISER: So, this took many, many hours of work.

GUEST: Uh-huh.

APPRAISER: Uh, I judge this to be, uh, late 19th century.

GUEST: Uh-huh.

APPRAISER: Have you any idea yourself in terms of value?

GUEST: No, I haven't.

I've never had it appraised before-- never... APPRAISER: Well, I judge this to be around, uh, $15,000 to $20,000.

So, is that a surprise?

GUEST: That's a-- it certainly is.

I'd say it is, but, uh... APPRAISER: (laughs) GUEST: Well, I knew it was valuable, or I wouldn't have packed it around all these years.

APPRAISER: That, that's right.