Published in full with permission from Business Insider
FIVE CHINESE cups carved from rhinoceros horn in the late 17th century turned up this weekend at the Tulsa filming of the US TV show Antiques Roadshow and were appraised at between $1 to $1.5 million.
According to KTLU the find is the most valuable in the show’s 16-year history and was brought in by a collector who purchased the cups in 1970 with no idea of their value.
…the million dollar cups were given as gifts to wealthy people for special occasions in the late 17th to early 18th centuries, ktlu.com reports. During that time it was thought that rhinoceros horn had special powers.
What makes them so valuable today is China’s power and stance in the world. ‘We had not had a million dollar find until last season we found some jade in Raleigh. Tulsa, you are the top dogs now,’ says the show’s host Mark Walberg.
The show will air on PBS early next year.
