1886 Gorham Mixed-Metal Teapot
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APPRAISER:
Where did you get this wonderful teapot?
GUEST:
From my wonderful aunt. She gave it to me last year and said a lady in her neighborhood had gifted it to her, and the lady was 97 at the time and said that she had had it since she was a young girl. And my aunt wanted me to have it. It's precious to me.
APPRAISER:
It is a great piece. It's by the Gorham Company. They were up in Providence, Rhode Island. And the piece is actually stamped "Gorham," and over here is the date code. It's like an iron cross. This piece has the date code for 1886.
GUEST:
Huh.
APPRAISER:
This is what we call mixed metal, so it's copper with silver. It has these wonderful scenes here. This is an example of the Aesthetic movement. It's also sometimes called Japonisme because of the influence of Japanese art on this. Japan was a closed society until the 1860s, when Commodore Perry forced them to open their borders. And after that, the Japanese style, Japanese items, Japanese prints started to become popular in the West. And the Japanese actually had a technique called Shibayama, which was a mixture of bronze with other metals.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
So Gorham's interpretation of it is copper with these molded silver pieces. It's really an extraordinary piece. It's very, very rare. You have a great shape to it, and it has this very unusual top to it, and it has this little silver finial. Here on the side are these insulators, and the insulators, they keep the handle from getting hot.
GUEST:
That's what my husband had just told me.
APPRAISER:
The main issue with this piece is the condition.
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
The original condition of this is supposed to be a lacquer, a reddish-orange lacquer.
GUEST:
Oh.
APPRAISER:
But sometime over the years, it might have gotten scratched or damaged and people polished it off. It must have happened a number of years ago because it's actually gotten a little bit of patina of age. It's absolutely charming and wonderful. Do you have any idea what the value us?
GUEST:
No, I do not.
APPRAISER:
In this condition, the value of this at a gallery would probably be in the $3,000 to $5,000 range.
GUEST:
Now?
APPRAISER:
Now.
GUEST:
Oh, my heavens. That's amazing.
APPRAISER:
If it was in perfect condition, double.
Appraisal Details
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