1862 Victorian Wedgwood Majolica Game Pie Dish
GUEST:
It's been in my husband's family about 50 years. An aunt gave it to his mother, and she collected Wedgwood in Glasco, Kansas, and she thought that it was rather special and she gave her two items. The other item, my husband's brother has in Tucson.
APPRAISER:
Well, it is very special in that it's so unusual. Wedgwood, like several other Victorian potters, liked to make what we call game pie dishes. Eating game pie, stewed game or rabbit or something like that in a pie with a pastry surround has been a popular dish in Europe since the Middle Ages. The Victorians liked to do it, but they didn't go in so much for the pastry. So they would often make a dish which looked as if it was made of pastry. And Wedgwood made these in the early 19th century, and this tradition continued through the Victorian years and through the end of the 19th century. And what you've got is a good Victorian Wedgwood game pie dish but a very unusual one. Let me take it apart so we can see the three elements that it's made of: the cover that you'd expect to keep it warm as it was served on the table. And instead of a simple dish with a pastry-type border on it here, the border lifts off. So in typically Victorian innovative style, we have a dish that's very plain and simple that can be made to look very exciting and very appetizing, you might say. It's very typical of Wedgwood-- the coloration, the innovation, the standard of manufacturing. And we can confirm it's Wedgwood simply by looking at the mark. And Victorian Wedgwood is very clearly marked, particularly this kind of ware, which we call Majolica ware. You can see the name "Wedgwood" clearly impressed on the bottom and you can also see three letters next to it. This is a dating code system.
GUEST:
That's what I wondered.
APPRAISER:
Right, Wedgwood used this through most of the Victorian years. The "Q" on the end is the date that the object was manufactured in. And it tells us by coding it was made in the year 1862. So you've got a very early piece of Wedgwood Majolica and a very interesting and unusual piece indeed. I don't know if you've ever had it appraised, Dianne.
GUEST:
We've just had it in a leaded-glass china closet for about 25 years, enjoying it.
APPRAISER:
Majolica is more valuable today than it's ever been, particularly this sort of English Majolica. I would have to say today, you're looking at something with an auction value of at least $800 and perhaps as much as $1,200 or $1,400.
GUEST:
Oh, that's very nice. Thank you-- we love it.
APPRAISER:
Thank you for coming.
Appraisal Details
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