We watch Antiques Roadshow sometimes. Its that show that has people bring in odds and ins from their homes to see if they’ve got any hidden treasures among all their junk. My mother took in a lamp one time when they were in our town. It turned out to be worth about what she paid for it at a garage sale. I imagine about 90 percent of the people who take their possessions into the show get them appraised for about what they paid for them, or less.

Of course, the show features the people who find out that old painting their grandmother had in the attic was really a legitimate antique by a well known artist and is worth thousands. Dust that thing off and hang it on the wall!

Well, now they have reached a real milestone. They have had their first 1 million dollar Antiques Roadshow appraisal. Seriously! Actually, the treasure was appraised conservatively at $1.07 million. The big appraisal happened during the show’s event in Raleigh, North Carolina on June 27, 2009.

The items in question are a four piece Chinese carved jade and celadon collection from the 18th century Chien Lung Dynasty (1736 – 1795). A large carved bowl in the collection was carved for the Chinese Emperor.

Needless to say, the show’s producers are thrilled. They’ve been hoping to get to appraise something of that value since the show began. Of course, I doubt they are nearly as happy as the owner of the objects! Apparently, they had been inherited from her father who had bought them while stationed in China as a military liaison during the 1930s and 1940s. The inscription on the bottom of the objects translated to, ‘by Imperial order’.

The 1 million dollar Antiques Roadshow appraisal episode will air during next season’s show which starts January 4, 2010 on PBS.

At its Raleigh, N.C., event on Saturday, June 27, 2009, ANTIQUES ROADSHOW taped the highest-value appraisal in its 13-year history. Four pieces of Chinese carved jade and celadon from the Chien Lung Dynasty (1736-1795), including a large bowl crafted for the Emperor, was given a conservative auction estimate of as much as $1.07M. The owner inherited the collection from her father, who bought the objects in the 1930s and 1940s, while stationed in China as a military liaison. Asian arts appraiser James Callahan of Skinner, Inc., noted the fine quality of the pieces, evidence that they were not made simply for the tourist trade, and he was rewarded by finding a mark on the bottom of the jade bowl that translates as “by Imperial order. “

The jade collection now tops the list of high value ANTIQUES ROADSHOW appraisals. Moving to second place is a 1937 painting by American Abstract Expressionist artist Clyfford Still, found in Palm Springs, CA, in 2008. The painting had been given a retail estimate of $500,000.

Said ROADSHOW: “For thirteen years, we’ve been hoping to feature a million-dollar appraisal on ANTIQUES ROADSHOW; it’s been our ‘Great White Whale.’ We’re thrilled that, despite this year’s slow economy, ROADSHOW finally captured this elusive trophy.”

Raleigh was the second stop in ANTIQUES ROADSHOW’s 2009 production tour, after Atlantic City on June 6. PBS’s most-watched series continues on to Madison, WI; Denver, CO; Phoenix, AZ; and San Jose, CA– and the hunt for even more undiscovered treasures!