A participant of the ‘Antiques Roadshow’ couldn’t hold back tears upon learning the value of a blanket that hung on a chair in their home.
A man who participated in the American version of the program ‘Antiques Roadshow’, in an episode from 2001, cried after discovering that an old blanket hanging on a chair in his house was worth a lot of money.
The item surprised tribal art expert Donald Ellis, who was completely enchanted by the piece. Ted Kuntz, the owner of the object, explained that the blanket had been in his family for three generations and the story was that his grandmother’s adoptive father received it from Kit Carson, a pioneer of the Old West, known for engaging in brutal actions against Native Americans.
Ellis then explained to Kuntz that the blanket was not just a Navajo chief’s blanket, but rather an extremely valuable piece; the expert even told viewers he ‘almost died’ when he first saw the blanket backstage on the show: “I’m still having a bit of trouble breathing here.”
“It’s not just a chief’s blanket, it’s the first type of chief’s blanket, probably made between 1840 and 1860. It’s called a first-phase Ute blanket.” Upon closer evaluation of the piece, the expert revealed to the participant the value of his item: “It’s extremely rare, it’s the most important thing I’ve ever seen on the roadshow”; admitting he was “still a bit nervous”, Ellis said the fabric should be worth between 360,000 and 500,000 dollars, adding: “You have a national treasure.”
The participant couldn’t believe what he was hearing and ended up breaking down in tears; with a choked voice he said: “I had no idea… it was on the back of a chair”. The Navajo Ute blanket, which was in Kuntz’s hands, ended up being sold for about US$ 450,000 to an anonymous buyer, who donated the piece to the Detroit Institute of Arts.