Major funding for Arkansas Treasures was provided by the Moving Image Trust Fund.

Additional funding provided by Cherokee Nation businesses.

Esse Purse Museum And by viewers like you.

This is studio C at Arkansas PBS.

If you were to bring something from your home to get it on this show, this would be your first stop.

It's where you would actually give your name and what you brought, and where you would meet a friendly person waiting on you first hand.

Like sharing.

Hello.

We're so glad you're here.

We're going to ask you to fill out a little bit of paperwork for us.

After you complete that paperwork, we'll ask you to have a seat.

Now, you will have to wait for just a little bit of time, but we actually have in-house entertainment.

Oh.

I think you got your money's worth.

You created your own treasury.

You understand.

People are going to care when this comes.

Up.

And it's my favorite.

Oh, hey, yo.

Let's go.

Studio C has been busier than a church fan in August.

We're sending folks over to the evaluators as fast as we can.

And once you get your number over here, you're off to a one on one with an evaluator at their particular table.

That is where dreams are made.

This might be TV worthy or.

Politely day.

I doubt there's a ton of value, but they're super comfy.

Okay.

Hi, Bobby.

You brought in a beautiful mid-century modern sculpture of hand carved.

And can you tell me where you acquired this?

Acquired it from an elderly gentleman in New Mexico.

Okay.

Over 50.

Well, about 45 years ago.

Well, it was, it's a nice find.

I looked over and recognized it because, work by this artist went through, right?

Auction in Chicago a number of years ago.

And, the artist is associated with Oklahoma and Colorado.

Oh, when I lived in Oklahoma when I was a child for about six years.

So I lived in Colorado, and I found this one.

Oh, yeah, that makes sense.

It probably, you know, was being represented out there at some point.

The artist is Trevor Wheat, and she had the misfortune, like a number of female artists, to be working primarily between, World War one and World War two in the middle of the Great Depression.

So you find some really talented sculptors and artists who struggled to find a market women at that time.

This is dated, I think, 1938.

Yes, sir.

We can probably get the camera to show where it says.

Trevor, 38.

And I think the fine arts people, people who deal with woodblock prints, watercolors, native art and mid-century artist or those who have a particular interest in a region like Oklahoma are going to be most likely to recognize her work, because not a lot of it's floating around the market.

No, you can find, two dimensional works going through auction with prices from about 250 to 1200 or so.

The interest in Oklahoma modernism and mid-century modern is fairly high with specific group of collectors.

I think almost everyone knows a Frank, a pottery from Oklahoma.

Oh, yeah.

And the founder, Mr. Frank, did mid-century modern sculptures and clay and other materials, and it would fit in with that, but be significantly rare to encounter for sale valuing.

It's a little problematic because the market's so thin.

You know, people want it.

And you know that some of the people who wanted have pretty deep pockets.

Oh, yeah.

The people the example that when it.

Right was probably about this tall.

It was a native woman and it bought almost $5,000 at auction.

I saw that on on television.

I was watching, and it was so funny when you showed me the picture.

Right, right.

And, this example reminds me a bit of, Botero.

It reminds me of a lot of clay works by Navajo artists that have been sold to art, you know, galleries for decades.

It's really well done.

I think that if this went to auction, they would try to be conservative and might, you know, might even estimated as low as 1500, you know, dollars or so.

But when it gets there, the buyers get to decide what it's worth.

I had an item last time with it.

You just can't always know until the dust is subtle.

That's true.

And this is going to be that kind of item.

Because if you have the right client who's collecting art from this part of the country, who cares about Oklahoma, who is interested in, you know, a woman or the documented history she was being shown in the 30s and the 40s.

You can find newspaper articles of her being shown by the state of Oklahoma.

Really?

I found quite a bit of information, you know, behind the scenes, just in a few minutes on the computer over there.

So people are kind of going to care when this comes up.

I.

Think she's awfully pretty.

Oh, it's a great thing.

I think, for insurance purposes, you'd probably have to appraise us for something like $5,000.

I don't think you can ignore the the one that sold at right auction.

And I think that, you know, it might not bring that at auction, but.

You don't know.

You know, buyers decide.

Long as she comes home with me.

I'm right.

It's a beautiful item.

An Oklahoma modernism.

It's not going to see a whole lot of it.

That's right.

And thank you so much.

Thank you.

I appreciate it.

Hi.

I'd like to welcome you to Arkansas Treasures.

I understand you bought some Arkansas history here from the Razorback.

Yeah.

Can you tell me about it?

Sure.

This is a collection that's actually been traveling around with me for about 50 years.

My father was, the news director at the ABC affiliate in little Rock for a long time, from the 60s through the early 90s.

And he brought things home.

One day.

They were about to be thrown away.

In the old art department.

This is around what time this current.

I'm going to say mid to late 70s, probably 77, 78, some somewhere in there.

But these are the figures that, But Campbell, who was the sports director at KTV, and Frank Broyles, who was doing the show at KTV, would use to diagram the place on the coach's show.

Of course, technology has moved well beyond this kind of medium.

So, they were getting ready to throw them away, and they had brought him home one day and said, if you'd like to, take these and do so after two years.

Yeah.

And you got these verified.

So.

Yeah.

So I mentioned they traveled around with me all over the state and, and one day I pulled a couple of them out and I sent them to Coach Broyles in Fayetteville.

This would have been, 1999.

And he wrote me back in his, obviously in his own handwriting.

And so those are absolutely what you thought they were.

And we used these back in the primitive days.

That's what he said.

But, now having that provenance, I think is probably what's pretty cool about that's that makes this thing really neat.

The, he didn't say how what how they made them or anything.

No, no.

Okay.

And there was some research on them.

The figures actually were made in Hong Kong during that time frame.

Okay.

And it looks like they were repainted and placed on metal bases.

They looked like the old Britton's base of the minnow braces from the lead figures back in the era.

And that gave them support, I guess, so they can move them around and show the positioning, but it's really a neat, neat piece that you have here from the old Arkansas Razorback history.

Yeah.

As far as value is concerned.

Do you have any idea what that might be?

You know, I'm assuming these were toys at one point.

That, I mean, they were made in bulk, and Hong Kong came in in a little bags, plastic bag.

Right.

Currently priced.

If you got a bunch of the bag, probably 6 or 7 bags.

You can get them now for about 12 months.

So basically I would say if this went to auction with the provenance you have there, and you had two Arkansas Razorbacks who were big collectors of school memorabilia.

Who knows what it could go to.

And that's where the price would be.

It's basically a one of a kind set.

And the only way to find out what the good price would be were to put it in an auction.

Hopefully a lot of people want it and make sure it's in Razorback country.

Right.

Thank you.

Awesome piece to have you have the provenance and it's great history school history.

Very.

Thank you for bringing it in.

Thank you.

Appreciate it.

Right.

Well it's.

It's.

Melissa Mary Lou, tell me about what we're looking at here.

Okay, so my mother, she found this auction on.

EBay, and it was locked boxes.

That were up for auction that were unclaimed.

And so she bid on it, and.

And won the box.

And this was from through the state?

Yes, it was through Arkansas.

Well, that's very cool.

What I love is that you got such a great value and such beautiful pieces for what you paid.

Yes, yes.

For the loss.

Very good.

And there's one bracelet that's not even here, right?

Right.

So we don't know about it, but we can look at these and say, wow, you did well.

What you have here is a beautifully made bracelet with quarter ounce English sovereigns.

These are Queen Elizabeth.

They're all from the 1960s and early 70s.

Yes.

And, they're beautifully framed in a 14 karat gold bracelet.

And this is just a lovely piece.

And especially given the value of gold today, it really makes it, it really elevates its presence and its value.

This is lovely.

It's a smoky quartz, which is, a the quartz is the most common gemstone around the world, but this is the one of the most popular versions of it, the smokey brown color framed in a beautiful gold frame on an 18 carat chain.

And then over here we have a key ring, which is such an odd little thing.

It's a keychain, I guess I should call it.

Yeah, it seems like the least practical keychain I've ever seen, but that's what it was.

We had no idea what it was for.

You know, I would if it was mine, I would take Saint Christopher off and put it on a chain.

And I'd wear this necklace, because that feels like to me where he wants to be up to his neck.

Right.

But also lovely and and beautiful.

All of it's in perfect condition.

So I can only assume that it was left in this lock box sometime in the 70s.

Right.

Because all these coins would kind of put it back to that date, so who knows, right?

Yeah, that's what we were thinking somewhere around the 70s, and when they bought this gold was $300 an ounce or less.

Maybe.

And today it's $3,200 an ounce.

So it's just a whole different world.

These two rings are both white gold.

And they're in perfect condition.

They seem to have never been worn, but all together, you've got well over $10,000 worth of jewelry here, and that's without the other bracelet.

And that's a conservative estimate.

So I would say keep bidding on those eBay boxes.

Yes.

Thank you.

Absolutely.

We appreciate it.

Thank you for bringing them.

They're just beautiful.

Yes.

Thank you.

I want to thank you for coming to Arkansas Treasures today.

Now, you know, one of the things that struck me, you have an absolutely beautiful musical instrument here, but it was really more of the story that's behind this musical instrument that intrigued me so much.

So tell me a little bit about what you brought, and then tell me a story.

Well, this is, was owned by my stepfather, who has recently passed away.

Okay.

And before that, his father played it.

Okay.

It's a true town made somewhere between 1926 and 27.

Okay.

He, was in the National Guard.

Was there Lee Sachs?

He also had his own business.

Warren Crowe and the classics.

Well, of.

Course, yeah.

And I guess the biggest claim to fame is with being on the National Guard.

He played at all the Bill Clinton events.

And and we have a wonderful photo that we're going to show here.

Bill Clinton and him playing sax on stage together.

Right.

And then and it's this saxophone and play and.

The, picture is when, Bill had a, class reunion in Hot Springs, okay.

And they ask Warren's band, his Warren Crowe in the classics to come down and perform, and.

Of course, Warren Crowe in the class, which had to go perform.

Yes.

It's really the story of the background and, and playing with, with, with Clinton and and all the ties back to Arkansas Hot Springs and a band that was well known throughout the state.

Political figures.

The saxophone has traveled through some really noted times.

Yes.

Places, you know, as a saxophone.

Now, the True Tone is a wonderful sax.

It's just not an incredibly valuable sax.

I mean, probably in this model, in this condition is somewhere between 600 and $1000 at auction.

Oh, okay.

But the the tie back to the story of, and Arkansas is really what struck me is making it just go over the top.

And I love the photo of of, your stepfather, Bill Clinton, on stage playing sax together.

That's just that's just a wonderful thing.

Yeah.

He used those pictures to, caught my mom and and her big family, too.

And clued him into the family.

Okay.

They must have worn.

And they were.

Well.

That's good.

I want to thank you for bringing this out today and offering up a bit of, a bit more of Arkansas history.

Well, thank you sweet.

Just after I was born, my mother bought this face as a celebration of my birth.

The first of what would be four children.

It's been in the family for now, for over 70 years, and we're so excited to have it be a part of Arkansas Treasures.

This base has just been evaluated and and I've got volunteers here.

You all would not believe.

We're going to go on a break.

And we'll be back.

To.

There is still more to come in this episode of Arkansas Treasures, but scan this QR code now for ways to watch past seasons and more.

We're.

Oh, hey.

You know, when you watch Arkansas Treasures, you get so much from every show.

Inspired to join us next time.

And, also learning to take care of those family artifacts that mean so much to you so that you're not faced with small tragedies.

Come together so.

To start.

Me.

Hi, and welcome to Arkansas Treasures.

Can you share with me what you've brought in for us to take a look at today?

I have a statue of protection.

I got, an estate sale, and it's from Africa.

And, it was purchased from the estate of a missionary that traveled there, and it was gifted to her.

Okay.

And so how long have you had the piece?

Probably six years.

Okay.

Six years.

All right.

So yes this is a nail fetish by the Congo people of Congo Africa.

And it's called a Kisa candy piece.

And it is, as you said, a ceremonial piece.

And so what people should understand that when we're looking at African art is there are pieces that we call tourist piece.

And then there are actually ceremonial pieces that are used.

This would have been one of those pieces that were used.

And true to the name nail fetish, we see all of the nails and pieces here.

There's a compartment here, and it was used to take care of problems.

So if you had problems this was the piece that you would come to to help get those problems resolved.

Now we were talking, off to the side about the activation because the piece has to be activated.

So I don't know if this piece has been activated or if you've had any problems where you've come to the piece and said, hey, I need to take care of my problems.

But if I were to assign a value to it, we would put a replacement value of $2,500 on it.

Wonderful.

And so again, I know I wouldn't want this to come looking for me to take care of your problems, but we thank you for bringing it into the show today, and we hope that you continue to enjoy it and take care of it.

Thank you so much.

Welcome to Arkansas Treasure.

So happy to have you here today.

I'm happy to be here.

Please tell us what you brought.

So these are two giant buttons that were left in the state Capitol press room after Bill Clinton was elected president the first time around, and I'm not sure if it was the day after he was elected president.

That was a week later, I don't remember, but they were in little plastic baggies and I thought, I didn't know if it was a signature machine, auto signature machine, or if he actually signed them.

So I just kept them in a box for, I don't know, 30 years and brought them here.

I'm glad you did.

These are actually signed by Bill Clinton.

Yeah, he signed this one and this one.

And he was our 42nd president of the United States.

He was still governor then.

He had not been sworn in.

Correct.

This is a six inch button.

The early Clinton buttons are highly collectible.

And of course, in Arkansas, you're in the best place where people collect all things Bill Clinton.

But as a president and people who people who collect presidential history would all be interested in something like this, he did sign other campaign buttons.

It wasn't a one off.

He probably did it just to thank everybody in the press room for the work that they did.

Right.

Do you have any idea of the value?

I mean, I googled the value of a size this size with hail to the chief, and I mean $20, but they weren't signed right with a signature.

I'd put him in between 100 and 50, 175, but if you got two collectors going after them, you might get a higher price.

But these are wonderful Arkansas political collectibles, and we really appreciate your bringing them in.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I appreciate you to.

That am married too quick on it okay.

I don't go back, miss O'Neill.

I mean, you mean Jane Hank, because I am an artist, a statesman.

Welcome to Arkansas treasures.

What did you bring in for us today?

This is Mr. Kooky Al, and it's something that my mother bought in the 60s.

Either.

I'm not sure where I think she bought it at.

Either LaVey's or Goldsmith.

We're from Jonesborough, but she proudly brought it home to our house in Jonesborough and it.

And put it in a window at the top of the stairs so he could stand there and stare at you as you walked, looked at the steps, and we always went, well, that's where you know.

And we were.

We've been going, he's kooky and he's spooky.

He really is not okay.

But we've had him around since the 60s and he's moved from house to house.

I had him up at our cabin at Hardy because that was where my mother lived for a while.

And, I was saying, what?

What is this thing doing?

I was asking my cousin because I deal with antiques.

And I said, do you know anything about this?

Because he had a little app or something.

I could look up and I said, this is this anything?

Is this a thing?

And, and and he looked at me and he said, yeah.

And that's how he would tell me.

He said, it's from a artist, I think in New York or someplace in New York.

That did bronzes in the 60s.

So he's very 60s.

And, and his eyes kind of wiggle.

He makes noises sometimes.

That's when he's nervous and, but I've made up songs, but I just call him Cookie Owl.

All right, well, we love Cookie Owl, and, He won't.

Move is definitely, a bronze owl from Mr. or Nest, though Emilio Gonzalez-Torres.

Dress.

Okay.

And he is not only an artist, but an inventor in his own right.

We took some time off stage to take a look at some of his images.

And love that he was a loved, a very impressive man.

If we all look much better now.

This.

And so not only did he do the, sculpture owls, but he was, as I said, an inventor.

And this style is known as brutalist Art Nouveau.

Yeah, that makes sense.

Okay, so we've got this, this bronze sculpture here.

And did you have any idea of, what it might be worth or.

Absolutely nothing.

I'm not one of those people that are going.

Is it worth it?

I don't I have no idea.

I just thought it was one of her crazy things she bought.

And I still don't know where she bought it, but it probably in Memphis someplace.

Well, if I were to sell this, I would put a price of 8 to $1000 on it.

Holy cow.

And so your little kooky character.

He's spooky, and he's.

Worth something to.

Is worth that much money.

So you can take them, jiggle them, and put him back where you had him before and just continue to enjoy.

Well, he's going to have a better place now.

He's been just kind of scooch around, but he always has to be in a window so it can shine through his big blue eyes.

Well, thank you for bringing him on the show.

For.

Oh.

Hello, and welcome to Arkansas Treasures.

Your name is Liz.

Yes.

Well, you've brought one of my favorite things today.

Tell me a little bit about your painting, and then I'll tell you what I found out about your painting.

Well, the painting I when they were selling my grandparents place in New Hampshire, the last thing they did was go through the barn.

And this was one of the things that came out of the barn.

Said you you were lucky enough to claim it?

Yes.

Did you have any competition?

No, I don't know.

There wasn't any.

No.

None whatsoever.

Can we go back to the barn today?

Find more?

I think the barn may still be standing, but.

Yeah, this stuff is gone.

Yes, well, you have a wonderful painting.

And it's by Howard Hitchcock.

And I've discovered he is the premier interpreter of the Hawaiian landscapes.

He's known for, for painting different Hawaiian scenes.

He was the first Hawaiian to actually study in Paris and study art.

He came back to Hawaii and became a very prolific painter of Hawaiian landscapes.

Also, incidentally, he was the founder and brought the Boy Scouts to Hawaii.

So he was very instrumental in not only his art, but helping Hawaii.

He's it's very much there are lots of scenes all over Hawaii.

Different mountains, different coast harbors.

It's very interesting.

And I love the vivid colors and the sun on the mountains and the the beautiful, vivid colors.

He's just, a wonderful artist.

And if you have any idea what it might be worth.

I really don't.

I we're very, a very safe conservative estimate is $25,000.

Oh, yeah.

Well, it's very good.

I mean, they range anywhere from 19 to 45,000.

So I think 25 is a very conservative estimate.

So, now you see why I was so interested in the bulletin.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

There might have been other good stuff in there, but.

Yeah.

Well you got, you got a real gem.

And I think it's, I think it's just lovely.

And, thank you so much for bringing it.

It's my favorite thing.

Oh dear.

Oh thank all right.

Very glad.

Thank.

Thank you.

Hey, we're about out of time for this edition of Arkansas Treasures.

Time flies when you're evaluating and determining.

Is it a treasure or is it not?

And we hope we have you rethinking some of that junk in the attic.

It could be a treasure.

You never know.

That's what it is about this show.

It inspires.

We invite you to join us again when maybe one of these spaces that you see behind me will be one of our featured guest on Arkansas Treasures.

You may see him again.

One thing for sure, you'll see my face again.

I'll be here.

Everybody's a critic.

And everybody loves the magic of Arkansas treasure.

Everyone here is having a really good time.

I actually made a lot of new friends.

Almost a little family gathering.

I am just tickled to death.

To be here.

We've been walking around.

Oh.

What do you got?

What do you got?

What do you got?

I mean, it's so it's fun to look at everything that people think is worth something, or they want to know something about it.

I think the gentleman said they were worth.

About $65.

Each.

We've had thousands of dollars of fun being here today.

Lots of characters out here.

Oh.

The experts were incredible.

Incredibly informative.

We talked to Roy.

He said, have you looked on the back?

And I said, no.

And he flipped it around.

And there's the name of the artist.

And the day I am surprised I home there because I watch it on TV.

We are Arkansas treasures.

And I had to wrap up.

Major funding for Arkansas Treasures was provided by the Moving Image Trust Fund.

Additional funding provided by Cherokee Nation businesses Esse Purse Museum and by viewers like you.