Jacob Petit Porcelain Tulip Vases, ca. 1845
Watch
GUEST:
They belonged to my great-grandmother. I own the home that my paternal grandparents built. And I inherited a lot of the furniture and the items, and my great-grandmother and my grandmother were avid collectors of Vieux Paris, Old Paris. And these little vases always sat in the master bedroom on my grandmother's dresser. They date back to probably in the neighborhood of the 1850s to the 1860s. And they were purchased by my great-grandfather in New Orleans and they're still sitting on the dresser in the master bedroom.
APPRAISER:
Okay, they're really interestingly modeled as tulips. In the 19th century, especially the early 19th century, there was kind of a craze for vases in the shape of tulips. They were popular not only in France but also very popular in England and were made by a number of different companies, including some of the Staffordshire potteries as well as the fine china companies like Spode. One thing that's interesting about this pair is they're two different colors. Normally you would expect a pair of vases to be exactly the same color. They're a little bit crudely modeled. They're well painted, but the English pieces at the same time period would be much more crisply modeled and even more well painted, but I don't think it's a huge issue. You are correct in that they could be called Vieux Paris porcelains, which is sometimes also referred to as Old Paris porcelain, Paris porcelain. And what that term means is that they were made in or around Paris, usually considered the first half through the third quarter of the 19th century. It's a generic term used because usually we don't know what factory made them. But in this case, we do know who made them because they're marked on the bottom with the mark of the manufacturer. On the bottom is a "J" and a "P" in blue, and they're both marked. And that's the mark of a company named Jacob Petit, who is a well-respected manufacturer of Vieux Paris porcelain. There is a huge, deep, three-arm crack in the bottom of the vase. And that is a manufacturer flaw that happened in the firing. Generally, a manufacturer's flaw that does not visually detract, especially if it's on the bottom, has no effect whatsoever on the value. They're usually attributed to the 1840s. French porcelain have been especially popular in the American South, especially prior to the Civil War. They're still very popular with collectors. This pair would probably sell, in a retail situation, between $1,500 and $2,500. They have a really nice value.
GUEST:
Well, I hope that they can remain on the same dresser for many, many, many years.
Appraisal Details
Executive producer Marsha Bemko shares her tips for getting the most out of ANTIQUES ROADSHOW.
Value can change: The value of an item is dependent upon many things, including the condition of the object itself, trends in the market for that kind of object, and the location where the item will be sold. These are just some of the reasons why the answer to the question "What's it worth?" is so often "It depends."
Note the date: Take note of the date the appraisal was recorded. This information appears in the upper left corner of the page, with the label "Appraised On." Values change over time according to market forces, so the current value of the item could be higher, lower, or the same as when our expert first appraised it.
Context is key: Listen carefully. Most of our experts will give appraisal values in context. For example, you'll often hear them say what an item is worth "at auction," or "retail," or "for insurance purposes" (replacement value). Retail prices are different from wholesale prices. Often an auctioneer will talk about what she knows best: the auction market. A shop owner will usually talk about what he knows best: the retail price he'd place on the object in his shop. And though there are no hard and fast rules, an object's auction price can often be half its retail value; yet for other objects, an auction price could be higher than retail. As a rule, however, retail and insurance/replacement values are about the same.
Verbal approximations: The values given by the experts on ANTIQUES ROADSHOW are considered "verbal approximations of value." Technically, an "appraisal" is a legal document, generally for insurance purposes, written by a qualified expert and paid for by the owner of the item. An appraisal usually involves an extensive amount of research to establish authenticity, provenance, composition, method of construction, and other important attributes of a particular object.
Opinion of value: As with all appraisals, the verbal approximations of value given at ROADSHOW events are our experts' opinions formed from their knowledge of antiques and collectibles, market trends, and other factors. Although our valuations are based on research and experience, opinions can, and sometimes do, vary among experts.
Appraiser affiliations: Finally, the affiliation of the appraiser may have changed since the appraisal was recorded. To see current contact information for an appraiser in the ROADSHOW Archive, click on the link below the appraiser's picture. Our Appraiser Index also contains a complete list of active ROADSHOW appraisers and their contact details and biographies.
