GUEST: We actually found it at a garage sale in Bella Vista.

And I guess the woman had had it there for several days, and nobody had bought it, and we fell in love with it.

It had to go home with us.

She said that her father-in-law had brought it back from Japan after the war.

APPRAISER: Well, this piece is clearly Japanese.

This is a type called Sumida Gawa ware, which was made for export only starting in about 1895.

It's characterized by all of these bright colors and these applied figures, but it's usually small.

I've seen large ones with monkeys applied over the surface, but never one with this design.

It's characterized by all of these marvelous, applied figures.

You have rakans, lohans, Buddhist monks, in conversation with each other.

You have them holding pagodas, tapping each other on the shoulder.

They all look like they're in a certain degree of pain.

So perhaps that's why...

GUEST: They do, yeah.

APPRAISER:...she didn't sell it for a number of days.

There is a signature plaque.

At first, I thought it was by Inoue Ryosai, but it's actually by one of his students who worked in his factory at around 1900 by the name of Ishiguro Koko.

GUEST: Oh, okay.

APPRAISER: It's really an interesting, uh, profile.

Not too much is known about this character, except that he won a prize for a large vase of 500 of these characters.

GUEST: Oh, wow.

APPRAISER: This is undoubtedly a scaled-down version, but it's amazing, tour de force piece.

How much did you pay for this?

GUEST: We bought it for $150.

APPRAISER: Well, at auction, conservatively, today, you would be looking at somewhere between $6,000 and $10,000.

GUEST: Oh, wow (chuckling).

Really good investment for $150.

(chuckles) But it will stay at the house.

(both chuckle) GUEST: It's got a home with us for sure.