When A Woman Took This Lion Statue To Be Valued, The Appraiser Suddenly Choked Up Uncontrollably 😮😮 - YouTube

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When a woman took this lion statue to be valued the appraiser suddenly choked up uncontrollably

It should have been just another day at the office for TV's Antiques Roadshow presenter lark emai s'en in 2002

But one of the pieces that someone brought in for a free appraisal didn't just pique his interest it almost completely

Overwhelmed him it was all he could do to maintain his composure of

Course it's the stuff of daytime TV the finding of a valuable antique in the cellar or the loft packed away in an old box

That old blanket turns out to be a valuable American Indian artifact the disregarded teapot is identified as a rare piece of 18th century

Porcelain the muddy looking painting emerges as the work of an old master

The truth is that such finds are as rare as hen's teeth but on that 2002 episode of Antiques Roadshow

It was clear to see that mason had been presented with something he considered to be truly outstanding

So overcome by emotion was he that for a few moments. He was barely able to speak and

Mason was no wet behind the ears appraiser. This was and is a man with many years of experience under his belt

Mason is a recognized expert of Chinese antiquities

He spent more than a decade as design teacher including a spell at the New York school of interior design

He worked at Sotheby's Chinese works of art department in New York for 24 years rising to the position of senior vice president

Mason left Sotheby's in 2003 and founded a successful company. I gamble auctions.com

He continues his academic pursuits as an adjunct professor at New York University

And of course he's been an appraiser on Antiques Roadshow for 22 years

But on that day back in 2002 for once the eloquent mr.

Mason was at a loss for words the segment started off well enough with a lady of mature years

Explaining that her grandparents had acquired the piece in question a marble statue of a lion well in China early in the 20th century

The Lyons owner went on to explain that she'd inherited the piece and a family friend with some knowledge of Chinese art had taken a

Look at it. He thought that it was very valuable and probably from the period of the Ming Dynasty

Mason started out well enough

ok well I'll start out by saying when this came up I could barely at this point the normally unflappable Mason's voice broke and

Now his emotion was even making the lion lady nervous the question now was whether Mason would be able to regain his composure

But ever the consummate professional after a struggle Mason managed to get himself back on an even keel it's fantastic. This is truly

Sorry, I'm a little worked up

This is among the finest examples of Chinese art that we've seen on the roadshow the carving is beautiful the workmanship is stunning he continued

Obviously highly impressed Mason continued to praise the work

The Carver who did this was truly a master you can see the muscles rippling under the surface

It's the finest quality marble you can get it's truly magnificent. He told the owner

But Mason had one important correction to the information that the owners friend had given

This was not a piece from the era of the Ming Dynasty

This dates from the golden period of Chinese art, which is called the Tang Dynasty

Between the sixth century and the ninth century Mason pointed out

The Tang Dynasty was a Chinese Imperial house that lasted for some three centuries

From 618 to 907 and is as Mason said regarded as the Golden Age of ancient Chinese art

It was a time when all branches of the arts blossomed including music literature dance and painting sculpture

Too enjoyed a period of great creativity and skill as we can see from the splendid lion appraised on the Antiques Roadshow

This flowering of arts and culture can partly be traced to the context that the Tang Empire had with other peoples

notably those of India and the Middle East

The invention of block printing also meant that the written word was available to spread ideas and information

Much of the sculpture of the Tang Dynasty was religious in nature at a time when Buddhism was the prevailing faith

Many carvings of the Buddha were made and these ranged from life-size to exquisite miniatures

The fabulous wealth of many of Buddhist monasteries funded this prolific period of artistic production

Especially renowned are these statues carved directly in a limestone cliff faces at the Longmen grottoes many of which were created during the Tang Dynasty

the grottoes have had UNESCO World Heritage status since the year 2000 and the citation for the award called the carvings an

outstanding manifestation of human artistic creativity

apart from sculpture pottery was the other form of three-dimensional

Art that flourished during the Tang period the tombs of the ruling elite were frequently decorated with

earthenware figures and often featured vividly colorful glazes the Tang era is also known well for its production of fine porcelain

But back to our marble lion on the Antiques Roadshow insider website

Editor-in-chief Larry canal described the lion as one of the two most memorable items that have ever appeared on the show

The other was a Navajo blanket with an estimated value of between 350 and 500 thousand dollars

The episode that featured the lion had been filmed in 2002 in Albuquerque

Canal remembered that Mason was visibly moved both before taping the segment and immediately afterwards

It was such an important piece one

He never expected to encounter in New Mexico that he got a little choked up. It totally caught him by surprise

Subsequently writing an Antiques Roadshow insider in 2003

Mason noted how perfect the piece was he described how it was smooth and unmarked by damage

And he pointed out that the detail of the carving was as clearly defined as the day it had left the Masters craftsman workshop

But what value would Mason put on the Marvel lion?

Here are Mason's own words. I told the Lyons owners that its value might be a bit more than expected around

$250,000 Canal recalled, but the Lyons owner took it in stride. She was as cool as a cucumber

Even if she was astonished by the value as Mason was by the lion itself