GUEST: I got it from my grandmother, who I assume bought it in Colorado Springs in the '70s from some sort of antique store.
She probably wouldn't have paid more than five dollars for it.
I just thought maybe it was Japanese.
Maybe it had to do with, um, the theater.
APPRAISER: All of these, when you, when you first came to the table, were turned around.
(chuckling) So all we saw was this.
GUEST: Yes.
APPRAISER: And none of us had ever seen anything like it, went, "Hmm, that's interesting."
Name, play.
GUEST: (gasps) APPRAISER: Matches... the mask.
In Japan, there are different forms of theatrical performances, and Noh dramas have been around since the 14th century.
Noh dramas are N-O-H.
They would be worn by actors in different performances.
Some of them, a lot of them, are from the same drama, but quite a few of them are from different ones.
They all have a number.
They all have the character.
They all have the play.
That says "Made."
But it's missing the name!
GUEST: (gasps) APPRAISER: It's missing the name!
GUEST: Oh, no!
(chuckles) APPRAISER: There were schools of Noh masks.
There were special Noh mask makers, and there still are today.
There's a big female movement of Noh mask makers in the 20th century.
I think, likely, this was somebody who really is a fan of Noh dramas and specifically of a particular Noh mask maker.
GUEST: Very cool.
APPRAISER: A collector-- like baseball cards, or Pokémon cards or something like that would say.
I want to have them all, but you can't.
GUEST: Hm.
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER: So this is a way that you can enjoy them.
They're carved out of wood.
Some have a little bit of plaster on them, and they're painted.
And some are even articulated.
I love it, the artistry is fantastic.
GUEST: It's amazing.
APPRAISER: Based on the box, based on the materials, the carving, the characters, I think most likely these were made end of the Meiji period, early Showa period.
So between 1912 and 1930.
I think most likely, at auction, it would sell for somewhere between $1,000 and $2,000.
GUEST: Whoo!
That's awesome.
I love 'em, they're beautiful.
And they're just so pretty and cute.