Appraisal: Martin Brothers Stoneware Sugar Bowl, ca. 1890

APPRAISER: Who does this belong to?

GUEST: Belongs to my mother.

She said that it was special and that it was English.

(chuckles) APPRAISER: Well, I agree on both things.

(laughs) Did she say anything about why it's special?

GUEST: She said it was two potter people that specialized in painting really ugly fish.

APPRAISER: Well, there were brothers who worked in a part of London called Southall.

Southall is a, is a part of London that has a long tradition of making stoneware, which is what this is made of.

And they worked in the late 19th century and into the early 20th, and they were called the Martin brothers.

And, yeah, they were weird.

GUEST: (chuckles) APPRAISER: They were...

I mean, you look up "weird" and you get a picture of them.

GUEST: Oh, that's great.

APPRAISER: You can see the decoration.

It wasn't just fish.

They liked all kinds of what I would call beasties, you know.

But they're definitely weird every one of them.

And why would you put fish, in any event, on a sugar bowl?

Which I think is what it is.

It's worth about $1,000 at auction and possibly as much as $1,400 or $1,500 at auction.

GUEST: Oh, my gosh.

APPRAISER: Yeah.

Great thing.

GUEST: Amazing.

APPRAISER: Does your mom have other weird stuff?

GUEST: (chuckling): She does.

APPRAISER: Well, look around if she has any other Martin brothers.

GUEST: I will.