Nippon Porcelain Coralene Collection, ca. 1910
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GUEST:
I got them because I was helping a family friend move. They were downsizing to a smaller home, and in doing so, some things they couldn't take. And they asked us to pick out a couple items to put in our new china cabinet. And these were three items that we looked at and we sort of liked them--they were sparkly--but I really don't have any background. I don't know a lot about them.
APPRAISER:
I bet you noticed there was a mark on the bottom, so let's take a look at that. We see that it says "patent applied for" and then it says "number," and it gives us a number. These were actually made in Japan. The "patent applied for" means that it was patented in America, because these were made specifically to export to the United States. So they patented their designs and their processes so that they could not be copied in America by American companies. This falls within a class of porcelains which we call Nippon. Nippon is not the name of a manufacturer or a company. It means that it was made in Japan. These date right around 1910. These are made in a factory, mass-produced in large quantities. There's lots of Nippon out there, millions of pieces, and it has gone up and down in popularity, but the value in Nippon is not on the shape and it's not on the mark. If we took all three of these pieces and they were perfectly plain white and they had just a Nippon mark on the bottom, they would be worth between one dollar and three dollars each. The value's in the decoration. In terms of Nippon, they have a special type of decoration, which is called coralene. Coralene is a process. Each of these has a raised design, and there are three different designs: one has orchids, this one has water lilies, and the one piece nearest you has maybe poppy-type design. They painted colors against the background. On top of those colors, they applied clear glass beads, which they're melted slightly and fused with the body, and those beads kind of magnified the color, gives it a really interesting decorative effect.
GUEST:
It's sparkly.
APPRAISER:
Almost slight iridescent look to it. Now, these are all small, rather simple pieces. They're not a set because they're three different patterns. The two pieces nearest me are both vases. The piece nearest you is a powder jar, or a jewelry jar. These pieces would have a retail value between $500 and $1,000 each.
GUEST:
Oh, my gosh. Wow.
APPRAISER:
So the value for the group of three would be between $1,500 and $3,000.
GUEST:
Wow.
APPRAISER:
So you picked out the right thing.
GUEST:
Wow, I guess so. Thank you very much.
Appraisal Details
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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."
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