GUEST: The pieces that are down on the bottom part of the table I inherited from an aunt. The pieces that are on the upper level I purchased from an antiques store here in Cincinnati.
APPRAISER: And they are all made by?
GUEST: Rookwood Pottery.
APPRAISER: This is a really interesting collection because it goes from the earliest days until the present day. They started in 1880. And the way the pieces were marked back then was different than later. They were stamped "Rookwood" in all caps. There is a mark here, it's just difficult to read. And there is a date, which I believe is 1884. So this is very early in the production. There is no artist signature here. So this could very well have been painted by the owner of the company, and the founder.
GUEST: Oh my.
APPRAISER: Maria Longworth Nichols, who then becomes Storer. This earlier style is often referred to as Limoges style, from Limoges in France.
GUEST: Okay.
APPRAISER: But it looks Japanese. The French were looking to Japan. And then in Cincinnati, which is the beginning of the art pottery movement in this country, they were looking to France, which was looking to Japan. Then they went through many different lines. Some artists decorated, and others not. So this is an iris glaze. It is signed underneath by Josephine Zettel, and this is done in 1902. After 1886, they added one flame along the mark, until it was filled in 1900. And after that, they added Roman numerals. That's how you can date all of these. These are more production lines, which are molded. These are done in the teens or the '20s. This particular one, which is commemorative, is done in the mid-'30s.
GUEST: Okay.
APPRAISER: This one, that's actually from the 1960s.
GUEST: Oh, okay.
APPRAISER: And these are marked present-day Rookwood. As far as values go... You said these were given to you, the other ones you purchased.
GUEST: Yes.
APPRAISER: So what did you pay for these?
GUEST: The plaque of the fountain I paid $75 for, and each of these smaller figurines I paid $25 for.
APPRAIER: These are probably worth pretty much what you bought them for, plus or minus. Something like this, retail, probably about $400.
GUEST: Oh, okay.
APPRAISER: And the iris glaze, retail, somewhere between $800 and $1,000.
GUEST: Okay.
APPRAISER: The production pieces, a couple of hundred dollars apiece.
GUEST: Okay.
APPRAISER: Your entire collection, probably somewhere between $2,000 and $2,500 on that.
GUEST: Thank you, thank you.
APPRAISER: Nice collection, and a lovely grouping of history.
GUEST: Well, thank you, that's what I like about it too.
