GUEST: My father did research in tropical diseases.

And we lived in Japan, and he would travel around Southeast Asia.

This came home from one of his trips.

It would have been in the '60s.

APPRAISER: This is a Himalayan parcel gilt bronze figure of Amitayus, who's one of the incarnations of Buddha, and it dates to the 17th century.

GUEST: Okay.

APPRAISER: And it's likely from Tibet.

You can see that this looked different when it was originally made.

You have these gilded areas here.

And there's some remnants of the gilding on the arm and the legs, and the rest of it is worn away.

And that's because this is an object of veneration.

This was something that people were holding in high regard, and they would handle because they wanted some of the auspiciousness to rub off on them.

GUEST: Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER: The good favors, the good luck.

The entire thing would have been resplendent with this brilliant gold surface.

We're also noticing the damage here around the base.

GUEST: Right.

From the dusting.

APPRAISER: It looks like it's been dropped a few times.

Did some of that happen under your tenure or...

GUEST: When I, yeah, when I was dusting it... APPRAISER: ...dad's?

GUEST: ...I, it slipped, yeah.

APPRAISER: But I bet...

GUEST: I don't dust very often.

(laughs) APPRAISER: Let's look at the back.

And we can see also areas that once would have been obscured, but also dark areas, which may be smoke or it may be pigments that have become discolored.

And I'm gonna turn this up upside down so everybody can see, really, how much wear there is around the edge, how dented.

GUEST: Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER: Is it something you would ever sell, or you...

GUEST: No, you know, I-I... APPRAISER: ...just want to insure it?

GUEST: No, I can't, because it's a family thing.

It's a memory of my, my sweet parents, so.

APPRAISER: If you were going to insure this, a figure in the $7,000 range would be appropriate.

GUEST: Oh, golly.

Okay.

Because my dad, I know, didn't pay a whole lot for these.

I mean, he would come back from trips, and my mother would say, "How much did you spend on that?"

And he'd say, "I forgot."

(laughs)