GUEST: I got it from my grandmother's, um, closet when she died.

GUEST: It would have been 50 years ago this year.

Never had seen it before.

I just think it's really pretty.

GUEST: Right now, I have it hanging above my bed because I like it.

(chuckling): And it can't be stuck in a closet for another 50 years, so... APPRAISER: That's fantastic.

That-that brings joy to my heart to hear you say... APPRAISER: ...it can't be stuck in a closet, because it's absolutely something that should be out and be seen.

Believe it or not, it's from the Greek islands.

GUEST: Whoa, I would not have thought that.

APPRAISER: Uh, late 18th, early 19th century.

But in spirit and feeling, it feels very Ottoman Turkish.

But the connection between the Greek islands and Ottoman... the Ottoman Empire in Turkey is that the Ottoman Empire controlled Greece and the Greek islands, um, up until Greek independence, about 1821.

But it's just exquisitely done.

This is all silk embroidery...

GUEST: Oh, okay.

APPRAISER: ...with some metal thread.

The-the silvery bronze looking threads here are actually metal thread.

GUEST: Okay.

APPRAISER: Uh, and it's all done on a linen ground and just exquisitely done and really in pristine condition.

GUEST: It just seems such fine embroidery.

GUEST: You know, I really, when I've looked at it, it's like...

...I can't even imagine, I've-I've tried embroidery.

(chuckles) I can't even imagine!

APPRAISER: Right.

This is coming from a culture, both the Ottoman culture and then the Greek island culture, as a, as a result was very, very textile driven.

This is something that young girls were learned to do as part of their education; it's similar to American samplers in that they start doing this.

This piece, because it's so exquisitely done, it's so well-balanced.

It's really complete composition.

I would guess that it was done in a professional workshop as opposed to a domestic embroidery.

And it's not a bedspread.

GUEST: Okay, it's a tablecloth.

APPRAISER: Oh, not a tablecloth.

GUEST: Okay?

APPRAISER: It was really made, when you have textile-rich cultures like this, they make textiles for the sake of textiles.

APPRAISER: It shows their wealth.

It was probably made and purchased for a girl's dowry.

It would have maybe served some function in, say, as a covering for a ceremonial dinner or something like that.

But it was really, it exists just because it's a beautiful object and they wanted to make and create and own beautiful objects.

GUEST: It's definitely that.

(chuckles) APPRAISER: Yeah.

Any sense of value?

I mean, obviously, you didn't pay-- GUEST: No, I mean, obviously, they let me have it when I was 16.

APPRAISER: Mm-hmm.

Oh, 16?

GUEST: (chuckling): So, yeah.

APPRAISER: So you were attracted to this when you were 16?

GUEST: 16, yeah.

That's... APPRAISER: That's phenomenal.

I think in today's market, a retail value for this piece is in the $7,000 to $8,000 range, um...

GUEST: Wow.

(chuckles) Wow.

APPRAISER: And an auction value, conservative auction value, would be in the $3,000 to $5,000 range.

GUEST: Wow.

I, I never expected that, that's for sure.

APPRAISER: Mm.

GUEST: I mean, I wanted to take good care of it.

APPRAISER: Mm-hmm.

GUEST: And... and, um, and... and I want it to be out, but I didn't expect that it would be that much, so.

APPRAISER: Yeah.

GUEST: Well, thank you, that's... APPRAISER: Yeah.

GUEST: Uh, yeah, Ottoman, wow.

Greek.

APPRAISER: Yeah.