GUEST: These were found in the garage of my mother's home after she died. And it was my choice; one of the things I picked out. But the reason I chose it, because there was a sticker on the bottom that told me that it was a wedding gift. And we had a list of her wedding gifts, and she married in '34. That was the 164 gift that she got.
APPRAISER: You saw the registry?
GUEST: Uh-huh.
APPRAISER: Excellent. Well, we do see a fair amount of Newcomb College on ANTIQUES ROADSHOW because they made a lot of pottery.
GUEST: Right.
APPRAISER: Newcomb made pottery from about 1896 to the 1930s and maybe a little bit beyond that. Nobody knows for sure when they really stopped making pots. But they made it for a long time. But you've got pieces that are a little out of the norm here. The piece closest to me, the jar. Usually when we see these, we see this.
GUEST: Okay.
APPRAISER: Okay, most people don't know that these lids even exist. And it makes a big difference. Number one, it's a covered potpourri jar. It's beautiful with the lid. The design on the lid mimics the fuchsia blossoms that are on the base of it. Also, the color is rather strong. Newcomb tends to be blue and green. Those are the colors they used. And very often, the blues and the greens are pale. This is a bright mint green, the blue is rich and deep. Another thing about this piece is it's bigger than most. Newcomb tends to be small-ish. This has some size. So the combination of size, good decoration, good color and having the lid all make this, I think, particularly special. It has the typical Newcomb marks on the bottom. The Newcomb College NC mark, artist Anna Frances Simpson. The mark that represents the dates, this is a piece that would be from the '20s. This is the original Newcomb label, which you have the other half with your mother's registry number on it. This does have a little bit of damage here. There's a small bruise on the edge of the rim. The other piece you have is a Newcomb trivet. Now, Newcomb made a lot of trivets or tea tiles.
GUEST: Okay.
APPRAISER: This one is special also in a number of ways. First of all, it's larger than the Newcomb tea tiles tend to be. They're usually about 20%-25% smaller than this one. Secondly, this rim; this thick, round rim. If they have a rim at all, they're not that broad. They don't delineate the circumference of the tile the way that one does. A lot of the Newcomb tiles are floral design, not oak and moss, which is a Newcomb trademark. And once again, look at the depth of color on that piece. This is a really deep, rich blue. They can be awfully pale, and this one isn't. So you've got a couple of unusual, well-marked, richly colored Newcomb pieces that are fairly common forms but are uncommon expressions of those forms. As far as values are concerned, the Newcomb trivet closest to you... Most Newcomb trivets right now are selling for, at auction, between $1,500 and $2,000. Because of the size, because of the color, I feel like this is somewhere between $2,500 and $3,500 at auction.
GUEST: That's exciting.
APPRAISER: Good. This guy here, if this pot existed like this and no one knew it needed a lid, or they knew and they weren't saying anything, it would sell for somewhere between $1,750 and $2,250 at auction. If they knew it needed a lid and didn't have the lid, it would be $1,200 to $1,600. Because it's got the lid and it's intact, minor damage, somewhere at auction between $3,000 and $4,000. So I'd say the two pieces together somewhere between $5,500 to $7,500 at auction.
GUEST: Wonderful.
APPRAISER: They're really sweet ones, thank you.
GUEST: Well, it's special because it was my mother's.
APPRAISER: Can't put a price tag on that one.
GUEST: Nope, nope.
