GUEST: I bought it at a country auction, um, 25 years ago.

APPRAISER: And where was that?

GUEST: In Ireland.

APPRAISER: In Ireland.

Well, it's from quite a far distance from Ireland.

It's actually Tibetan.

GUEST: Oh.

APPRAISER: It's carved iron, and it's carved and pierced with a motif of dragons, foliage, and flames.

GUEST: Okay.

APPRAISER: And then on it, on certain places, you can see where there was a trace of gilding.

Well, originally that entire box was gilt.

It was all covered with gold.

GUEST: I see.

APPRAISER: It had been fire gilt.

And the box is also quite old.

It's 16th century.

GUEST: Oh, my God.

APPRAISER: It originally had a leather lining...

GUEST: Okay.

APPRAISER: And it contained probably either a porcelain or a jade bowl that was inside of it.

GUEST: Oh, okay.

APPRAISER: These kind of things were very high-status objects, because you also figure an object like this wasn't something that you just churned out in an afternoon.

GUEST: Yeah, I see.

APPRAISER: It was a major production.

And being a major production, it was something that could only be afforded by the wealthiest people, the nobility or Tibetan Buddhist clergy.

GUEST: Wow.

APPRAISER: What did you pay for it?

GUEST: £75.

APPRAISER: Well, that turned into a good deal.

This material comes from a place called Derge in eastern Tibet.

GUEST: Okay.

APPRAISER: And from about the 15th century on, they did this kind of work.

GUEST: So, um, when you say its- its carved, this, this was it a forged piece, and then... APPRAISER: Forged and then carved with a chisel and a hammer.

GUEST: My God.

And do you think it was used for something else afterwards?

Because I always thought it was a cooker of some sort.

APPRAISER: No, it was probably always used to contain a bowl.

GUEST: Okay.

APPRAISER: And would have had leather straps holding it together.

Did you have any idea about the value?

GUEST: Uh, no, sir.

I just bought it because it intrigued me, and basically it sat on my fireplace for the past 15 years, and, um, actually it was an afterthought, bringing it here.

APPRAISER: Wow.

GUEST: And I've-I've always wondered what it was.

I thought it might have been Chinese, but, um, Tibetan, that's amazing.

APPRAISER: The quality of the workmanship is really, really fine, though it's quite worn.

But that's kind of to be expected with the age.

But I would expect at auction for this box to sell for about $10,000.

GUEST: Oh, my God.

Holy smokes, that's amazing.

APPRAISER: Uh, it's very rare material.

GUEST: Oh, thank you so much.

APPRAISER: There's very little of it around.

GUEST: Thanks very much.