Celebrating Latino Heritage

MARK WALBERG: "Antiques Roadshow " is sharing amazing objects with connections to Latin American history and culture.

My understanding is that it was painted in 1904 by Diego Rivera.

WALBERG: It's "Antiques Roadshow" celebrating Latino heritage.

♪ ♪ WALBERG: In this special episode, "Antiques Roadshow" is highlighting treasured objects of the Latin American diaspora, including works by several highly acclaimed 20th-century artists.

First up, a painting by Cuban painter René Portocarrero.

I have a friend that was in the diplomatic service, and she served in Cuba in '59 to '61.

Okay.

She acquired this painting in Portocarrero's studio... Oh.

She bought it from the artist himself.

And when she died, I inherited the painting.

The painting is dated here "'60," so it was a contemporary piece...

Right.

...at that time.

Do you know what she paid for it?

I do not know.

Yeah.

René Portocarrero, a Cuban artist, he started at an academy but found the art school much too confining, so it's amazing what he's accomplished.

Aside from painting, he also did sculpture, book illustrations... Yeah, yes.

...ceramics, and murals.

And apparently in Cuba today, you can see his murals at the Havana prison, at the national hospital, the national theater, and other places.

So he was certainly well-rounded and well-accomplished.

Right.

Although he was born and eventually died in Havana in 1986, he did travel some.

He was in the United States and in Europe.

And in fact, in 1945, he was in an exhibition at the Julien Levy Gallery in New York, and that was a very important gallery for abstract and modernist artists of the time.

He was also very well-connected.

He knew Peggy Guggenheim, he was friendly with Wifredo Lam, the well-known Cuban artist, and he even met with Castro in 1961.

Oh, really?

They had conversation about the culture, what was going on with culture in Cuba... That's interesting.

That was very interesting.

Yeah.

Especially, it was also the year of the Bay of Pigs.

He certainly was well-accomplished, and his work is in numerous museums.

This piece is a classic example of his colorful abstract pieces.

This is oil on canvas, and you'll see that it also has wonderful impasto, they're just such thick layers of paint.

The painting itself is signed, dated, and inscribed with the title on the back.

And in English, it's called "The Cathedral."

And you can certainly see, it's this window here, and the columns, and so, it's an abstracted image of a cathedral.

If this were in a gallery, it'd be priced in the range of $80,000 to $100,000.

Oh, my gosh.

It's quite a picture.

Wow, it's wonderful.

WOMAN: There was a fire in a house in New York, and they were throwing things out.

And so they were a dumpster dive.

They were a dumpster dive.

Yeah.

With permission, with permission.

They just looked vibrant, and I had to have them.

I've been doing research on them for a long time, trying to find out who the artists were for the posters, and I've found some of them, but I could never find a value because they're in museums, the ones that I've been able to identify.

These are posters from Puerto Rico, and all of them are done via the silkscreen process.

And I think what you have here is a who's who roster of some of the great Puerto Rican artists from the 1950s.

Now, which of the artists have you been able to identify?

Rivera, Madalgo, and...

There are others, but I can't think of their names right now.

Here we have a Tufiño... Oh, there you go.

We have a Rivera, we have a Lorenzo Homar.

That's one.

These are really artists who helped create the Puerto Rican poster movement in the 1950s.

And these posters advertise a variety of different things.

Some are advertising movies, some are advertising reading, others are advertising shows.

It is sort of a window into the cultural life of Puerto Rico in the 1950s.

The one in the top center is certainly one of my favorites.

The artist is Carlos Rivera, and it's advertising a movie, and I think just the vibrancy of it and the excitement of it all combine to make a really exceptional image.

I've separated these six by order of importance, and I think the three on the top are better than the three on the bottom, but only by a little bit.

Okay.

I would estimate the three pieces on the top, the Homar, the Rivera, and the Tufiño...

Right.

Each of them, I would estimate between $800 and $1,200.

Really?

Wow.

And the three posters that we have on the bottom, which I think are good but just not quite as good, I would estimate them at between $700 and $1,000 each.

Very nice.

Wow, yeah.

Now, if you do the math, which I did before, I cannot tell a lie, the total estimate is $4,500 to $6,600 just for these six.

Okay, all right, great-- that's good news.

MAN: This came down through my family.

It started with my grandmother, as far as I know, and then it came to my mother.

I think it just sat in her drawer for years.

I'm not sure she ever used it.

And then it was passed down to my wife in a box of costume jewelry, so she wore a piece now and then, but eventually it ended up with my two daughters.

They used it for dress-up, along with the rest of the costume jewelry.

So, that's about all I know about it.

Okay, well, it's very pretty.

Unfortunately, it is not sapphire.

Right.

It is glass.

But it's sterling silver, and it's made by a woman whose name was Margaret van Voorhies Carr Castillo...

Okay.

...who went by Margot de Taxco.

And on the back here, you can see a lovely maker's mark, Mexican maker's mark.

Oh, sure.

She was a fascinating woman.

She worked in her husband's shop, Mr. Castillo, and then was one of the few women to open her own shop in Mexico, in 1948.

Wow.

She's very collectable, and her wonderful jewels were inspired by Egyptian motifs, Art Nouveau, Art Deco, and Mexican influences.

What's fantastic here is that you have a suite of jewels and that you have a collection, you have the bracelet, the pin, the pendant, the necklace.

Unfortunately, we have a little bit of damage to the back of the earrings.

The earring has been altered.

But even with the alteration, because you have a collection, even though it's glass and sterling, it would retail currently-- and she died in 1985-- for $3,000.

Oh, wow-- no kidding!

Well, that's great.

So, I hope that makes you happy.

Oh, terrific-- that's wonderful.

Now, if the back of the earring hadn't been changed, and glued on...

Okay.

...and the pieces hadn't been altered, it would retail for over $4,000.

Oh, no kidding.

But, I think it's quite a beautiful piece.

Oh, it's terrific.

A great example of terrific Mexican craftsmanship by a real, true artisan.

Uh-huh, sure, great-- that's terrific.

MAN: Back in Decatur, we had a minor league team.

It was called the Commodores.

And they were a farm club of the San Francisco Giants.

Back then, the home team used to send their used uniforms down to the farm clubs for them to wear.

They took the gray ones that said "San Francisco" across the front, I guess...

Right.

...and had a seamstress take "San Francisco" off and put "Decatur" on them.

Commodores left town in 1974.

The next year, they had an auction where they auctioned off old uniforms and equipment.

These with, along with about another 30 to 40 uniforms, were in a box, and my brother-in-law bought them for a dollar.

A dollar?

A dollar.

Wow, and how did you select these three for today?

They were probably the ones in the best shape and the cleanest.

(laughing): Okay.

They haven't been taken care of very well.

Got it.

Well, the Decatur Commodores was a farm league team for the San Francisco Giants from 1962 to 1974.

Now, the first jersey I see next to you is a Gaylord Perry jersey from 1967.

And this would have been a Gaylord Perry away jersey.

And you have, by the way, three Hall-of-Famers here.

Gaylord Perry, Hall of Fame pitcher, 314 wins, best known for "doctoring" the baseball, even admitting to throwing a little spitball, Vaseline on the baseball, but never ejected until his 21st season in the big leagues.

Really.

Even approached Vaseline to do an endorsement, but they said their Vaseline soothes baby's bottoms, not baseballs.

Next to Gaylord, we have Willie McCovey.

So we have one of the Giants' greatest pitchers and now we have one of the Giants' greatest hitters.

Willie McCovey, Hall-of-Famer.

McCovey played from 1959 to 1980.

He had 521 home runs.

He hit so many out of Candlestick Park, he has the record for hitting the most home runs in Candlestick in San Francisco, with 231.

And then we have Juan Marichal.

Now, this is the home uniform that's not been altered at all.

Yes, correct.

These two have been altered.

This says "Giants" on it.

And if you swing this around, it says number 27, Juan Marichal.

With Gaylord Perry, the great pitching duo of the 1960s.

Marichal was the number-one winningest pitcher in the National Leagues in the 1960s.

And best known for his high leg kick...

Yes.

...as you can see in these later uniform pants.

You said they had to actually add this in for his high leg kick.

Yes.

And you can see, I think this tear probably took place somewhere after he started pitching.

I would say so, yes.

The San Francisco Giants were one of the great teams of the 1960s.

It's unfortunate they never got to win a World Series, but you want to know a value and you want to know if a dollar was a good investment.

I would say it probably was, but how well?

We're going to find out.

This jersey is from 1967, it's an away jersey.

With the alterations on it, I would place an insurance value of $7,500.

Now, if this weren't altered, if it said "San Francisco," we're talking $15,000.

Holy cow.

The Willie McCovey-- this is from his MVP season in 1969.

In this condition, I would put an insurance value of $10,000.

But, again, if it weren't altered, you'd be looking at $20,000.

Now, let's go back to Juan Marichal.

This jersey is from 1962.

He won 18 games that year, great jersey for him.

Completely unaltered.

This, I would put an insurance value of $20,000.

The pants, $2,000, even in this condition.

So, you have a bona fide treasure chest here, and I would say that you brought us a giant find.

(laugh) I guess so.

I found it at an estate sale in Lake Toxaway, North Carolina, in about 1969, 1970.

'69, and what did you pay for it?

No more than five dollars.

Wow.

It is a ritual drinking cup, and you're not going to believe how old it is.

Well, this one came from a family friend who lived in Mexico City.

And this one came from my aunt who lived in Havana from the middle '20s to the end of the '50s, when Castro came to power.

Okay.

We have not seen a lot of Mexican pictures on "Roadshow," or at least I have not.

And these are by a quintessential artist.

His name was Horacio Rocha, and he was known for painting portraits of children.

But they do have this kind of surreal quality about them, don't they?

They do.

APPRAISER: A lot of people, not necessarily Roman Catholics, like them in their homes.

One like this in a good shop that sells that kind of thing, they're going to charge at least $2,000 for it.

It's authentic, it's in great shape, and it's a really compelling one.

WOMAN: I brought in these earrings that I wore in my wedding that my mother-in-law wore in her wedding.

And when did she get married?

In 1946.

They're a very nice pair of early 1940s earrings.

Stylistically, they look like they are Art Deco, but they're a little bit later, so it's a bit of a hang-on from the Deco period.

The earrings are diamonds mounted in platinum with calibré-cut sapphire accents.

And I did a carat weight, and they're roughly about three carats total of diamonds in there.

I would say, probably South American manufacture, and I would value them, at auction, $5,000 to $7,000.

Wow, wow-- very nice to know.

This saddle was given to me when I was four years old by my grandfather, who was good friends with Pedro González, who was the bull master in Nogales.

And Granddad went down and decided to tell this gentleman that he has a beautiful granddaughter and he would like to give her something very special.

And this has been mine ever since.

I only rode it one time, and that's when I ran for Coolidge Cotton Days Rodeo Queen and got to wear that crown proudly on this saddle that my grandfather gave me.

That's great.

It's a beautiful saddle.

This is incredible work.

The master.

This is cactus fiber.

Oh, my gosh.

This is maguey cactus fiber that's been embroidered onto the saddle.

The silver is from Amozoc, Mexico, that has been chiseled and put on.

The tree is made of mesquite.

That's what this dark color is in this wood.

There's a label on the back.

That is the label of the man who made the tree.

Oh, this part, okay.

Not the saddle, mm-hmm.

The stirrups are silver.

Yes.

The conchos are silver-- they're all iron, but they have silver mounts on them that are hand-chiseled.

This saddle was probably made in the late '30s or the '40s, not when you got it.

And it was only ridden on special occasions.

Yes.

Has the national symbol of Mexico up on the top.

And this is a burn from a maguey rope that's been dallied.

And the best charros, they can set this horn on fire.

Yes.

And these are burn marks... Let me see.

(hissing) (laughs) These are burn marks around the horn.

Yes, from the dally, yes.

You want to know what it's worth.

Well, you're keeping me in a lot of suspense, and I think that you're tricking me before... No, no.

Okay.

If this came up at a sale in this part of the country, where people know what it is, it would be an easy $6,000 to $8,000.

Wow.

So, you know, pretty good present from somebody.

Yes.

This is a particular style of saddle with the saddle bags that's from the Guadalajara area.

Guada... yes.

If you went to that area and said, "I want a saddle like this, new to used," you would have to pay $10,000 to $12,000, and you would have to wait a year to two years... Wow.

...for this embroidery to be done and finished.

Wow.

So, it's a really special thing.

It's very special to me, and every time I look at it, I remember Granddad.

So, that's, that's the specialness.

That's the best part.

That's the best part, my heart.

Thanks for bringing it to me.

WOMAN: This painting belonged to my grandparents, and they lived in Valparaíso, Chile, when they were married, where my father was born.

And it's been in the family since then.

It traveled back to London, and then made its way to Connecticut, and now it's in Tucson.

APPRAISER: Terrific.

Interestingly, this is the first time I've actually seen one of these alabaster paintings in private hands.

It's a very rare form of art which originates in Mexico in the 16th century.

And the artwork of that tradition actually works its way also down to South America, mainly in Peru, where the... Where sculptures are carved from alabaster.

And that tradition is called huamanga.

This is an interesting piece, in that it is called a retablo, or a painting which venerates a saint-- in this particular instance, the Virgin Mary, as, where she appeared in Spain in the 15th century.

Her name is la Virgen María de Consolación, and she was venerated in Jerez de la Frontera in Spain.

This painting was most likely painted in Peru, and it was most likely painted to give thanks for a safe crossing to the New World.

There are two different versions of the Virgin Mary, and the Virgin, Virgen de Cobre, or the Virgin of Copper in Cuba, is one version, as well as this version here, the Virgin of Consolation, where she is in a boat, in a Spanish galleon, as well as depicting the two Spanish galleons in the background.

You can actually see traces of the Spanish flag, which remain on the top of the one mast of the ship.

Unfortunately, the cartouche area is missing some of the dedicatory text which actually gives the story of how the Virgin of Consolación was venerated.

Nonetheless, this is a very rare artwork in its original frame.

And, given that, it's a wonderful bonus, and the support being alabaster versus copper or canvas, which was a more traditional support for these paintings, places it in a very, very rare category.

What do you think this painting is worth?

I have no idea-- I really...

It's tough to tell.

Because there have been no comparables when I've, when I've looked.

Exactly.

Normally paintings of this ilk when they sell at auction, when they're painted on copper or canvas, which date from mid-18th century, sell for about $6,000 or $8,000.

However, given the subject matter and the rare medium, I would give this painting a value of $10,000 to $15,000.

Oh, my.

Thank you for coming in and sharing it with us.

Well, thank you very much.

Thank you.

WOMAN: I bought it in New York City about 20 years ago, over 20 years ago, probably.

APPRAISER: And was it in a gallery, shop?

What kind... No, it was a dealer who sold it to me-- she was actually selling Haitian art, and she had a couple of bronze statues and I just took to it immediately.

I thought it was so beautiful and so statuesque, and I relate to bronze ladies, so I thought I just related to her totally.

It's really a wonderful piece.

As you know, it's signed.

It's by an artist named Ángel Botello.

He was interesting.

He's sort of one of these renaissance characters, because not only did he do sculpture, but he did paintings, he did watercolors.

He was born in Spain in 1913 and he studied in Paris, he studied architecture at the École des Beaux-Arts, and he also studied painting.

And it's interesting that you said that you bought this in a gallery that specialized in Haitian art, because he lived in Haiti for a number of years.

And then in 1953, he wound up in Puerto Rico.

He's probably the most famous sculptor in Puerto Rico.

It was probably done in the early 1980s.

So we have this lovely little seated girl, seated child.

Yes.

It's charming, made out of bronze.

It's very modern-looking, stylized.

She has this wonderful flat face, which I find very appealing, and this nice, long neck.

Right.

And then her dress has this great, great sort of pebbly textured surface, which I think is nice.

It's very endearing, very warm.

I think so.

And I think, yeah, I mean, that's what people like in sculpture, in artwork.

It's appealing, looks nice.

That goes a long way in determining the value.

So, what did you pay for this when you bought it?

Oh, gosh, it's been so long, but I know I paid $1,000.

I know it was a lot of money for me at that time, 20 years ago.

I had art before I had furniture.

But I was just, again, so taken by it and just thought it was so lovely, I just put the money out.

His work is very, very desirable.

The market is very, very strong for works from Puerto Rico, from artists from the Caribbean.

This is a great, great piece.

The value in a gallery is probably about $10,000.

Okay, nice.

Really nice.

MAN: Actually, I inherited this piece ten years ago, and it's never left my wall until now.

It's Diego Rivera.

That's all I know about it, actually, that he is Diego Rivera, and a signed piece.

Well, in Latin American art terms... Oh, absolutely.

It doesn't come... You don't get bigger than Diego Rivera.

No, I love Diego.

And appropriately so, because he was a larger-than-life character.

But as a young painter myself, Rivera was a great hero of mine.

He was one of the Mexican muralists, and I did a rather bad copy of a mural that he did in Detroit.

Oh, really?

In central Detroit, "Industry," when I was a younger man.

Have you had any thoughts about value on this piece at all?

Actually, none, to be honest with you.

Right.

I couldn't even imagine.

Well, these pen and ink drawings do turn up relatively frequently.

This one's entitled "Two Indigenous Women."

And it's come from a gallery in New York, so it's got a nice provenance.

At auction, given the strength of the market just now, I would imagine it should fetch somewhere in the $12,000 to $18,000 range.

Oh, my God, really?

Yeah.

(laughing): I had no idea.

Yeah.

Unbelievable.

He's major modern master.

You've had it for quite a while, and obviously you need to insure this piece.

I would suggest a figure in the $25,000-upwards range.

Oh, my God.

For insurance, yeah.

Really?

Mm-hmm.

I had no idea.

Absolutely, yeah.

Thank you again.

Not at all.

Pretty impressive.

This, this piece actually is from the late 1800s, 1890.

And this piece was located in a house, my family home, and my mom said, you know, the house is falling down.

So I decided to recover the piece and bring it to the United States.

I took it on a plane, and I decided just to take it here.

I love the way that these two sets of doors that open.

I like the panel construction, which is very much based on an 18th-century pattern.

Really?

This, these panels.

And even that these turnings in front, Diego, are very, very 18th-century, kind of William and Mary in style.

Value-wise, it would still be, probably, in an antique shop, at about maybe $3,000 to $4,000.

Mm-hmm.

As a decorative object.

MAN: An explorer went over to Guatemala and studied the Mayan Indians, and apparently brought this piece back.

APPRAISER: It's not from Guatemala.

Oh.

Right.

It's not a Mayan saint.

It's actually an Aztec saint from Mexico.

So, in a retail environment, $3,000, $4,000.

Well, we got this in Uruguay in the '80s.

I was working at the embassy there.

Well, he's a very special artist who... Uruguayan.

Spent really most of his life there.

He incorporates icons one would see coming into port or coming in to the harbor of Montevideo.

Yet, it's, it's a kind of a pattern work that he's done.

What did you pay for this painting?

Probably around $1,000.

Today I would say, at auction, it would be in the neighborhood of $20,000 to $30,000, and that may be modest.

Wow.

You're very wise to have bought it.

(laughing): Thank you very much.

MAN: This came through my wife's grandmother, she inherited it from her grandmother.

Her grandmother married a man from Mexico City.

He was an antique collector, and he collected it in Mexico City.

In his inventory, he indicated that-- he wrote the word "Guatemala."

So we assume that it, maybe it came from Guatemala.

It probably is from Guatemala.

We'd probably need to do a little more research on that.

It's certainly from Central or South America.

It's dated right here, done in Roman numerals.

I think we tend to think that only samplers that are made in the United States or England are valuable, but there are many wonderful examples of samplers from Mexico and other places in Central or South America, and I think this is a great example of that.

We have not only really nice embroidery, it's done to the same degree of fineness that you would find on most any really high-quality American sampler.

I would probably insure this for somewhere around $2,000.

Ah, very good.

We've got a set of prints by Agustín Fernández, is, was a Cuban artist.

And I'm addicted to estate sales, and this is just one of my... Great.

One of my finds, actually.

It's a fantastic group of prints.

He's a very important 20th-century Cuban artist.

He was born in Havana, and he moved to New York and attended the Art Students League in the late '40s.

And from there, ended up in Paris for about a ten-year stint in the '60s.

And then eventually came back to New York in 1972, and ended up staying there until his death recently, in 2006.

Wow.

He was a painter, a drawer, a sculptor.

Do you know the technique that's used here?

I thought they were etchings, is that correct?

Yeah.

Yeah, you're right.

What really attracted me to these was just this sculptural quality.

These objects, they look three-dimensional.

And I think he also had a beautiful use of inks where these etchings, with a little bit of dry point, the intaglio techniques that he used, you almost see the radiance.

It's like he's used a metallic ink.

Right.

But it's just black and white.

Right.

And some of them are actually raised, too, you know?

Exactly.

As you can see on this piece here and this one, up close from the side, you see a real tendency.

It's called an embossing.

Right.

And it's when he's using the plates with the intaglio, when he's making the etching, they're raised areas.

Right.

They're all individually signed, and the year is 1964.

And they're numbered.

It's a typical artist's proof.

It says "E.X.," meaning example, "artiste," one out of five.

So that was the small edition that was printed for his use.

And these were inscribed to someone as a gift.

They were a presentation, yes.

They were actually printed when he was in Paris at Frélaut and Baudier, one of the master printers that Picasso used.

And so they were really some of the best print makers working in Europe.

How much did you pay for them at the time?

I paid $2,500 for them.

The beauty is that they're all hand-printed, they're all original.

He's had a more extensive auction history with his paintings and unique works.

Yes, right.

But for his prints, it was really hard to find many things.

One set of these came up recently at a French auction house and sold for about $2,000.

However, I really think, if you were to sell them at auction in the States, being a little closer to Cuba, and there's a real interest in Latin-American artists these days, and artwork, I think the estimate is more in the $4,000 to $6,000 range.

And I really think it could sell for a bit more than that.

Fantastic.

This painting is by Iberê Camargo.

He was a great friend of mine.

Many, many, many years I was friends with the family.

And when he painted this, I was having a cup of coffee with his wife.

He was painting a huge thing, and I didn't realize he was doing something on the side, which was me.

And so when it was ready, he brought it over and he said, "I painted you, here it is."

I had no words, of course.

I said, "Well, leave it here in his studio to dry it up."

And his wife said, "No, no, no, "you take it right now, because tomorrow, "it's going to be totally different.

He'll change it overnight."

And it was fun.

He was a great person.

Incredible person.

So that's how "Zoila" appeared.

So you mentioned the name of the painting.

Yes.

I'm going to flip this over so we can take a look at the back here.

Okay.

And maybe I could get you to provide for us some instant translation here.

(laughs): It says, "Iberê Camargo, Porto Alegre."

It's a city down south of Brazil.

"7 August 1982."

"To Zoila, with love," his signature, and the date.

The painting is oil on canvas.

And unlike some of things here on the "Roadshow," it's very clear who it's of, when it was done, who did it.

He's a fascinating artist, as you know.

Arguably the most important Brazilian Expressionist painter.

Right.

Someone who has a national and international following.

Like many artists of the period, in 1948, he did travel to Europe to study the Great Masters.

And I think some of that influence is visible here in the portrait.

De Chirico, specifically, was a large influence, as was the Italian painter Carlo Petrucci and André Lhote.

This painting is not typical of works done in this period.

Right.

So clearly something that you inspired that day.

At auction, we think, conservatively, the value is in the realm of $12,000 to $18,000.

That's more than I expected.

That's very nice.

When you look at the other works that he's doing at the same time, like the large works, we're seeing prices for pictures like that north of $300,000.

Wow-- I'm so happy for him.

I mean, he's gone, but he still lives in our hearts.

WOMAN: This jewelry belonged to my mother and to my father, who were good friends with a man named Antonio Pineda, who is a Mexican silversmith, and he's quite well-renowned, but the interesting part is that this is all gold jewelry, rather than silver.

And he is really noted for the silver jewelry.

APPRAISER: And what connection did your mother and father have with Antonio?

They were very, very good friends, and they even owned the first house that he had built in Taxco, Mexico.

Now, did they purchase these pieces from him?

Yes, yes, they did.

Do you have any idea what they might have paid?

I have absolutely no idea.

Antonio Pineda was an apprentice of William Spratling, who is the master silversmith of Taxco, sterling, Mexican jewelry.

And Antonio went another route.

He opened his own business in 1941, and by 1950, he was using a trademark of "Antonio" underneath a crown.

Now, the fact that these pieces are gold is very, very special.

They're all 14-karat.

They're extremely rare.

Antonio is known for a modernist style, which was extremely popular in the 1950s through the 1970s.

This ring here has two blue stones.

One is a natural Australian sapphire.

The other one is a manmade sapphire.

And that was common in Mexican jewelry.

Yes.

The next ring we have is a huge smoky quartz.

Moving to the necklace-- which is almost a trademark style of Antonio-- it barely hugs the neck, gracefully ends in a pearl, wraps around the neck, dangling down to a pendant of an emerald, and rubies, all done in 14 karat.

Notice the sleek simplicity of his work.

We also have some cufflinks that were marked Antonio, and 14 karat.

This pair of cufflinks has some golden citrines, square-cut stones.

And this is a green beryl.

Some people would call it a low-quality emerald.

Absolutely beautiful pieces.

On a retail level, and at a very good jewelry store, this necklace would be valued at around $3,500.

Very nice.

The citrine cufflinks... Mm-hmm.

About $2,500.

I'm surprised.

The ring with the Australian sapphire, $2,800.

Ca-ching!

We're going up.

Yes, we're going, going, going.

The smoky quartz ring, about $1,800.

And the green beryl cufflinks, about $2,200.

This is phenomenal.

Your total comes to $12,800.

I think I'd better put it in the bank.

(chuckles) I have a bracelet.

It's from Peru, it was my great-grandma's.

We're thinking from the 1930s, possibly.

You could do the whole appraisal, just keep going.

That's all I know.

(laughs) This is the type of jewelry that a lot of people would go visit and they bring back historic stuff.

All right.

It's the kind of thing, if you had to buy it today in an antique shop, it's probably $100.

All right.

All right?

Thank you so much.

We really had a great time.

MAN: This was part of a collection that I bought from my mentor.

APPRAISER: Well, it certainly is a significant book.

It's Francisco de Gamboa's commentary on the mines of Mexico.

Printed in Madrid in 1761, it's in absolutely original condition, beautiful original vellum binding.

Conservatively, we would estimate it at auction at $3,000 to $5,000.

Wow.

That's... certainly makes it the most valuable in my collection.

MAN: I got it in a flea market about 15 years ago.

What'd you pay for it?

$50.

Ah, that's good.

It's a drinking horn.

Uh-huh.

You see you remove... you remove the top.

It's cork, and they put water in there, and they take it out in the field.

A farmer would take it out in the field, or a sailor would take it out on a boat.

Now, this is Mexican.

And it has the inscription of the Mexican owner on it, but it's got these wonderful, wonderful graphic designs.

If I saw it and they asked me, $7,500 to $8,500, I wouldn't hesitate at all to buy it.

Well, that makes... makes drinking a little better, doesn't it?

Yeah, maybe they put rum in there, I don't know.

MAN: A dear friend of mine gave it to me for my 50th birthday.

He had received three of them from Clemente's handler at the time.

This one is signed by Clemente right here.

There's maybe only a handful or so we've seen of this poster that are signed.

Clemente, of course, was tragically killed in a plane crash in 1973.

Yes.

His autographs to this day are very desirable.

And this piece, I would put a value for insurance purposes of $3,000.

Wow, wow, that's really neat.

Thank you.

Thanks very much.

WOMAN: Well, it was found in a warehouse that my husband's grandfather had purchased in Columbus, Mississippi, we thought probably in the 1930s.

This sword is really visually just a pretty sword.

Do you know where it's from?

I don't.

It looks Spanish, because of the stuff up on the handle there.

This eagle is from Colombia.

On the blade, we have gold wash, and it has the symbol for the country of Colombia, and it says, "Estados Unidos de Colombia," which is, "The United States of Columbia."

That's important to help us date the sword, because they only used that as the United States of Colombia from 1861 to 1886.

Then it became the Republic of Colombia.

At the base of the blade, did you ever notice this marking?

Yes, I did, I...

In fact, I looked it up.

I knew that they did the swords for the Civil War.

Mm-hmm.

It was Schuyler, Hartley, and Graham, and not only did they do swords for the American Civil War, they were one of the premier retailers-- it was them and Tiffany-- and they made swords that when you saw it, you said, "Wow."

When you were buying from Schuyler or you were buying from Tiffany, you were paying through the nose, but you were getting the quality that was worth what you were paying for.

They're New York, are they not?

They're in New York, yes, they are.

The sword has the gold on the blade, it has the gold wash on the handle, it has the shagreen grip, which means it's made of ray skin or shark skin.

And the blade is the same blade that will show up in a regular cavalry sword or an officer's sword.

Then they put the embellishments on it.

On the top of the sword, we have the brass backstrap that's gold-gilted.

We have the mythological face that a lot of people refer to as Medusa, with the serpents radiating from it.

And it's in the original scabbard.

The scabbard has the heavy gilt, brass mounts, and it has extra chase work all around.

They would cast the piece and then they would go in and hand-chisel it and chase it to give it more clarity and more detail.

I think this sword, today, would bring between $5,000 and $6,000 in a retail situation.

Wow, I'm surprised.

I really didn't think it was that much.

Well, my whole family was a Foreign Service family, and we traveled, we moved about every two-and-a-half years.

And in the spring of 1958, my father moved to Santiago de Cuba as the consul at the U.S. Consulate there, and we followed that summer.

We lived there for just about two years, during the revolution.

Yeah, the Cuban Revolution occurred.

Correct.

So you were eyewitness to the Cuban Revolution?

Eyewitness and ears.

You learned to come in if the bullets were flying more than a couple of miles close to the house.

You learned to do that.

I was nine and ten when I was there, and you kept the windows closed at Christmas because Christmas trees were counter-revolutionary, and things like that.

My father was called away soon after we got there because the rebels in Oriente Province and the Sierra Maestra, which was Raúl Castro's area of the revolution...

Yes.

...kidnapped a busload of American sailors, and he was tasked with going and negotiating their release.

The person in the white shirt with his back to us, right there, is my dad.

And he's listening to a very young Raúl Castro.

And the photo below is another close-up of Raúl Castro with your father?

It looks to me like that's later in the progress and perhaps they've come to some agreements by then for the release.

And I have to note this armband on the young Raúl Castro here.

Yes.

It is the day of their declaration.

It's the date the revolution began.

It's the emblematic date that everybody wore on their sleeve.

This is an interesting picture just because my dad is there, but also Raúl, and you can see the conversation around the table.

That's where they did a lot of their negotiating.

The photos up here and down here were in January of 1959, which is just as the Cuban rebels came in and were victorious and moved into Santiago.

And so there was a huge celebration and lots of campesinos-- farmers-- were bussed in from the countryside to celebrate.

Wow.

And the last row of photographs?

That's my dad laying out a signal for landing strip for the Navy helicopters that were coming in from Guantánamo to help pick up the sailors who were being released.

And you can see some of the sailors down in that photo.

And he received the Department of State Superior Service Medal for that.

He never actually met Fidel, but my mother did, and we all were out in the beginning, because it was a very exciting time when the rebels first came into town.

It was a very populistic sight, everybody was excited.

We've got another photograph on the top of this large pile.

We should mention, these are "LIFE" magazine photographs.

They were taken by George Skadding, the "LIFE" photographer, and given as a personal gift following their time together in the mountains to my father.

Some of them have appeared in "LIFE" magazine.

That's a really interesting point, because many of these are photographs that were published in "LIFE" magazine at the time, but many of these photographs have never been published or ever seen before by the public.

So your two years there, it covered the entire pre- to post-revolution, is that correct?

Right.

And as well-known and documented as the Cuban Revolution is, your family's story and its history isn't.

And your father wrote the story, is that correct?

Yup.

This is the manuscript that your father wrote?

Yeah, that's an unpublished manuscript that he put together when he was back in the U.S.

This is a truly remarkable archive.

I really hope your family's story gets out here, it really deserves to be told.

It was a wonderful place to live.

All of that-- revolution aside-- the people were wonderful, and it was a gorgeous place.

But yet, as a young girl, weren't you scared sometimes?

Yeah, often.

I spent some nights under my mother's bed, unbeknownst to her, sometimes, and I learned to avoid the windows when they were moving medications through our yards as they would shoot around the windows.

I collected bullets of various calibers and could identify the size of the holes in my house by the caliber or by ear, at a distance.

Really?

(laughing): Yeah, well, you did what you needed to do.

So they were actually shooting into your house?

Not into, just to keep us from looking out the windows.

You have far more documents, photographs, and other historic materials.

For the archive that you've brought here, I would put a value, at retail, on just the collection that we've talked about and have here today, at $5,000.

Thank you.

MAN: Well, it's been in my family for over 80 years.

It was purchased somewhere around 1930 by my great-grandparents.

APPRAISER: In Mexico or in the United States?

I believe it was purchased in Mexico.

Okay.

And the painting for some time was in bad condition, and it was hanging behind a door.

Behind a door?

Behind a door in the house.

Dear.

If that door was open, then you couldn't see the painting.

Well, there are two extraordinarily intriguing words in an artists' catalogue of paintings.

And those are: whereabouts unknown.

All right.

My understanding of the painting's history is that it was painted in 1904 by Diego Rivera.

And at that point, Diego Rivera, who was arguably one of the most important Latin-American 20th-century artists, was only 18 years old.

And this was only, I think, three or four paintings by the artist that are known from that early time.

It's a wonderful period, early 20th-century painting.

But it also gives hints of his mural style, his technique.

And even more so, in a way, his subject matter, which were the workers of Mexico.

Right.

A really terrific image.

The painting is oil on canvas.

It's signed and dated lower right, "Diego Rivera, 1904."

And what's interesting about the signature is, it's a very young man's signature.

It's one of his school signatures rather than the more formal, mature signature that we'll see later.

Oh, really?

The research that we found in the authentication process of it is that it had been missing.

In the records in Mexico City, it was unknown.

Where's the painting?

Where is "El Abañil"?

Which is "The Laborer."

It was an important painting for him in 1904, and then disappeared from 1930 to roughly 1995 or '96, when it was exhibited and authenticated.

Now, they have done some restoration on it.

Yes, it has been lined.

But it is in very fine restored condition.

Well, I think you have something of a painting trifecta here.

Oh, good, good.

The painting itself is by a very important artist, it has a terrific history of being purchased in Mexico in 1930, and it's a very beautiful and important painting.

So, trifectas usually pay pretty well.

(laughing) I would be putting a retail estimate on the piece of between $800,000 and $1 million.

Seriously?

Seriously.

Oh, my gosh.

Oh, wow.

Unbelievable-- I did not expect that.

I'm astounded.

I really don't know what to say.

(laughing) WALBERG: Check out this eye-catching work I fell in love with these when you unpacked them.

Wow.

Tell me, where did they come from?

An antique store in New Jersey, within the last eight to ten years.

And I like them because they're weird.

Do you know anything about them at all?

I know they're sterling or silver with onyx, and that they're by a Mexican artist, but that's about the extent of it.

Whether that's right or not, I don't know.

Well, they're made by a company called Tane, out of Mexico City.

Tane was probably-- and still is-- probably one of the largest manufacturers of silver in Mexico City.

And these would have been made in the 1950s.

Really?

Wonderfully designed, as you can see from the bowl, the decoration goes all the way around and is quite consistent and quite interesting.

What did you call it, actually, that you thought these were made out of?

Onyx.

Onyx?

Yes.

They're not.

What are they?

They're made out of obsidian.

Which is?

Which is a good question.

(chuckles) Obsidian is a volcanic glass.

They're glass.

They are made out of glass.

It's a volcanic glass.

Sometimes it almost looks a little bit like cat's eye.

Okay.

Some of the pieces you may get a little bit of iridescence out of it.

Tremendously interesting.

I was only ever to see an auction sale of one bowl.

And not the candlesticks at all.

So it's really nice that you have the suite of those.

Okay.

Now, these were made by Tane, but they were retailed by Lunt, in the United States.

On the bottom, which you know that they are marked there, and there's a variety of marks there.

It says "Mexico," it says "Tane," and it says "sterling," and as well as that, it also says "Lunt."

These were probably commissioned as much as anything for Lunt to sell.

But just an amazingly interesting design and great condition.

Do you recall what you paid for them back then?

I think $1,200.

That's my recollection.

And I tend to go for the unusual or the bizarre when I collect, and this fits that definition.

As unusual and bizarre.

And bizarre.

Well, it also very much fits into the design of mid-century modern.

Okay.

On the whole, you're looking at an auction estimate of between $8,000 and $12,000 for the suite.

You're kidding.

I wouldn't kid you.

I can't believe I'm saying, "You're kidding."

And these are in the mid-century modern world?

Yes, absolutely.

I'm stunned.

They would have been made in the 1950s.

I own something mid-century modern!

(laughing) I'm stunned!

Well, I think they're fabulous.

Oh my goodness, I'm ecstatic.

Thank you.

Excellent.

Thank you so much for coming today.

WALBERG: I'm Mark Walberg.

Thanks for watching this special episode celebrating Latino heritage.

See you next time on "Antiques Roadshow."