1884 Edward Cranch Rookwood Vase
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GUEST:
I yard-sale with my friend a lot, and we were out one Saturday, and it was sitting on a table with a bunch of broken stuff, and I was just drawn to the cats and dogs on it and the way it looked and everything, and I liked it.
APPRAISER:
And mice.
GUEST:
And mice, and I went back three times and looked at it, and finally, I said, "I have to have it," so I bought it.
APPRAISER:
And you paid how much for it?
GUEST:
Two dollars.
APPRAISER:
Two dollars. How long ago did you buy this?
GUEST:
About a year and a half to two years, and I've had it in a cabinet since.
APPRAISER:
So, what have you found out about it since you've had this?
GUEST:
Nothing, except that it says "Rookwood" on the bottom.
APPRAISER:
Okay, well, it does say "Rookwood" on the bottom.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
Right over here.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
And it also says "Cranch," and that's for Edward P. Cranch, who was an early-period Rookwood decorator.
GUEST:
Oh!
APPRAISER:
And his work is typified by this incised, sort of illustrative style.
GUEST:
Oh, okay.
APPRAISER:
And he was kind of an odd guy.
GUEST:
Uh-huh.
APPRAISER:
And used a very peculiar subject matter. Here we have cats reading books, and...
GUEST:
I thought it was very peculiar, yeah.
APPRAISER:
Yeah. This incised, or sgraffito, decoration with black outlining, almost always on this sort of brown background, is what he's known for.
GUEST:
Oh, okay.
APPRAISER:
He tended to repeat scenes. He only worked for a couple of years, so it's quite rare.
GUEST:
Oh, okay.
APPRAISER:
Usually from about 1880 to 1884.
GUEST:
That's great.
APPRAISER:
But this one I've never seen before. And I also like the fact that it's got its original stopper. If this is all it had without the chain, I would have assumed that the stopper was lost.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
And somebody just put a cork in it. But this is, is the original stopper.
GUEST:
Oh, that's great.
APPRAISER:
So I'd say a couple, three years ago, this piece might have been worth about $500 to $700.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
Today, without this decoration, but with more typical decoration, about $1,000. But because of the cats and the dogs, I'm thinking maybe between $1,500 and $2,000 retail at auction.
GUEST:
Oh, that's wonderful. Oh, that's wonderful.
APPRAISER:
Okay?
GUEST:
Very good, so that was a good investment on my two dollars.
APPRAISER:
I'd say that was a good yard sale find.
GUEST:
That's right, that's right, that's right.
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