1938 Van Briggle Art Deco Plaques
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GUEST:
I picked them up at a rummage sale. I was just drawn to the color and the profiles on them. I thought they were really interesting. I thought that they might be like Grecian or Roman. But I really wasn't sure. I knew that they were some kind of pottery piece. When I flipped them over I saw an artist's name, Raymond Porter.
APPRAISER:
Okay.
GUEST:
And I did a little bit of research on the Web and found out that he taught at the Massachusetts School of Art. He was also a sculptor. He had some reliefs that were in some government buildings and some statues of military figures. And that's about the end of where I got with it.
APPRAISER:
But when you looked at this, did you have a particular factory in mind when you looked at this color?
GUEST:
I didn't at the time. I noticed on the back that it mentioned the Van Briggle Pottery company. And I'd heard of them before, but I didn't know very much about them. When I researched a little, the color seemed consistent with some of the Van Briggle pieces.
APPRAISER:
On the back here we have the writing that you were speaking of.
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
And the writing is here-- Raymond Porter, Massachusetts School of Art, Boston, made at the Van Briggle, Colorado Springs, July of 1938. So we have written in pencil by someone that it's from the Van Briggle. So we only have what you can believe that's written on the back of it. But that's why you come to Roadshow. On the Internet, you can't necessarily get a sense of the color. We have seen these things over and over and over again. And you think it's Van Briggle, and it says Van Briggle on the back, but is it really Van Briggle?
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
Well, I can tell you that you're absolutely right.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
Which is good.
GUEST:
Yay!
APPRAISER:
And you also have down here "Raymond Porter, S.C.," which essentially means sculptor.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
And dated 1938. They are a very nice pair of plaques. They actually have a signature down on the bottom here too-- R.P. Raymond Porter did a lot of work around the turn of the century and did Native Americans in an Arts and Crafts style.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
And I find it really interesting that his style evolves. These are pure Art Deco. And they are still American Indians, but they have been turned into these very angular, bold sculptural figures. How much did you pay for these?
GUEST:
I paid 50 cents each for them. So a whopping dollar for the pair.
APPRAISER:
I'm happy to tell you that in today's market, at auction, they would probably bring $800 or $1,000 apiece.
GUEST:
Oh, my word... apiece?
APPRAISER:
Apiece.
GUEST:
Get out, yay! What great news. Thank you so much.
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