Mid-20th-Century Rörstrand Porcelain Vase
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APPRAISER:
I can't help but want to touch this particular vase. It has such a satin texture to it. I bet you do this a lot.
GUEST:
I do, and that's what appealed to me when I'd first seen it.
APPRAISER:
So tell me, where did it come from?
GUEST:
It came from an estate sale a few years ago. I had it on display for quite awhile, and then I changed decor. My husband and I have just moved, and it's been in storage. There was a decision about the vase, whether we were going to keep it, and I really love it. I was always interested, wanted to know what the markings were. I knew it was something because we do collect other pottery.
APPRAISER:
It's made by a company called Rörstrand, and Rörstrand is a Swedish pottery.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
Rörstrand has a long history: it's the oldest Swedish pottery. It's been in business for about 300 years.
GUEST:
Really?
APPRAISER:
And now this is certainly mid-20th century, Scandinavian design. It's a gorgeous piece done by a particular designer that I believe is Gunnar Nylund. Gunnar Nylund did the majority of this type of a look, and in fact this is porcelain, not pottery. So the vase has a beautiful matte glaze to it, and it's the matte glaze that lends itself to being so silky smooth. If this were a high-glaze piece, sure, it would still feel good, but it would feel almost sticky, soapy. With this sort of a glaze, your hands just roll off it, and it's almost, in my eyes, sexy.
GUEST:
Well, that's one way of describing it.
APPRAISER:
Sexy ceramics. Hey, it's the wave of the future. Most porcelain doesn't have that sort of feel to it. Now, let's look at the bottom as we look at a mark.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
The unfortunate part about the mark that may have made it difficult for you is the mark is filled in with glaze, and when that mark fills in with glaze, it's hard to be really identifiable. We've seen enough of this to be able to know what this is, that it is Rörstrand. If we took Rörstrand and we put it on a scale of one to ten, for size, this is a ten.
GUEST:
Really?
APPRAISER:
For shape, it's a ten.
GUEST:
Wow.
APPRAISER:
For color, it's maybe a six. Color could have had a little bit more pop to it, but that's okay. The market for this is very, very hot and very, very strong.
GUEST:
Really?
APPRAISER:
Do you recall what you paid for it way back when?
GUEST:
As far as I can recollect, it was about $25.
APPRAISER:
At auction, right now, a presale estimate should be in the range of $5,000 to $7,000.
GUEST:
Really?
APPRAISER:
Yes.
GUEST:
No wonder I love it so much.
Appraisal Details
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