Antiques Roadshow

GUEST

I got it at a local auction near our home.

APPRAISER

What did you pay for it?

GUEST

I paid about $150 for it.

APPRAISER

Did the auctioneer give you any information?

GUEST

He thought it was a Moroccan sword, and after I purchased it, he said he thought we got a pretty good deal on the thing.

APPRAISER

All right, well, let's see if you did. First of all, this is from Niger. It's Tuareg, and this particular kind of sword is called takouba. And a Tuareg warrior would have carried a sword like this and a lance. And as fine and as fancy as this is, this also would have been a status symbol. It would have indicated how important he was as a warrior. And I want you to look at the silver area that's inscribed, the beautiful leather work. This is really an extraordinary thing, and this... By the way, these stones are carnelian stones.

GUEST

Oh!

APPRAISER

So it's a great example. Probably dates to the early 20th century, and at a good auction, I would expect this to be $800 to $1,200.

GUEST

Not bad! Not bad at all.

APPRAISER

Congratulations.

GUEST

Well, thank you very much.