Newcomb College Pottery Group, ca. 1915
Watch
GUEST:
I have a great-aunt who went to Newcomb and had friends during the period when they were doing this work, and she gave me this. She had a large collection. A lot of the pieces are on view now at Newcomb, and these were just some pieces she gave me because I admired them.
APPRAISER:
We'll start with the one closest to you, which is a middle-period piece from the '20s with carving, with flowers. This is unusual for several reasons. It's got four handles, and most Newcomb is not handled. The carving is a little deeper than usual, and the background color shades from purple to blue to pink. And that coloration-- most Newcomb, as you can see, is blue to white. Not in the case of this piece. So while it's a later piece, and the later pieces tend to have less value, I think this one is rather exceptional in those ways. The artist on this piece is Cynthia Littlejohn. You don't see a lot of her work. So the Newcomb mark, other factory marks, such as the date, the '20s is written in there in letters, they have a letter dating system. So the second piece is an earlier one, it's a transitional piece, which means it was a transition from high-glaze pottery to matte-glaze pottery. That runs from about 1908, 1909, to about 1915. They have a waxy quality to them, they're not quite matte, they're not quite high glaze. This one's special because the decoration goes from top to bottom. Most Newcomb has floral decoration on the bottom or the top, and then a blank area. This one, the entire surface of this pot is captured with modeling, with carving. This is a hand-thrown pot that someone then carved the design into, and then painted, and it's got multiple colors, which is also good. It's got yellow, white, blue, green. You could see the way the blue comes through the leaves around the bottom. This is a really colorful transitional piece, so quite nice. And then, finally, this tour de force, this plate. A woman reading a book to her two girl children. Newcomb was in New Orleans. It started after Sophie Newcomb died of diphtheria, and her mother wanted to have a place where women can learn to be part of the workforce, where they can be empowered. So they brought them into the workforce by first teaching them the applied arts. One thing I do want to point out, the mark on the back of this piece, that would have been the Newcomb mark, is crossed out entirely. And normally, when you see the mark crossed out, it means the piece is a second. There's nothing wrong with this piece. I think this is a family piece, and they meant to keep it, so it was marked as unsalable, and that's why we see the Newcomb mark scratched out. Also, an early signature for, I believe, Sadie Irvine. I've never seen her sign it that way before. All indications of a singular extraordinary piece of early high-glazed Newcomb pottery. The date on the plate-- even without knowing the dating mark on the back, I would date this to 1905. In terms of the values, the least expensive is the youngest piece. Between $1,500 and $2,000 these days at auction.
GUEST:
(gasps)
APPRAISER:
Transitional piece, today, $2,500 to $3,500 at auction.
GUEST:
Wow.
APPRAISER:
And finally, this plate, today at auction, it's between $10,000 and $15,000, but that's a third of what it would have brought about a decade ago, so still worth a lot of money. The three pieces together...
GUEST:
You are kidding.
APPRAISER:
...are between $15,000 and $20,000 at auction, but not quite where they used to be.
GUEST:
Oh, my goodness! I'm really, really surprised about the prices.
Appraisal Details
Executive producer Marsha Bemko shares her tips for getting the most out of ANTIQUES ROADSHOW.
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."
Note the date: Take note of the date the appraisal was recorded. This information appears in the upper left corner of the page, with the label "Appraised On." Values change over time according to market forces, so the current value of the item could be higher, lower, or the same as when our expert first appraised it.
Context is key: Listen carefully. Most of our experts will give appraisal values in context. For example, you'll often hear them say what an item is worth "at auction," or "retail," or "for insurance purposes" (replacement value). Retail prices are different from wholesale prices. Often an auctioneer will talk about what she knows best: the auction market. A shop owner will usually talk about what he knows best: the retail price he'd place on the object in his shop. And though there are no hard and fast rules, an object's auction price can often be half its retail value; yet for other objects, an auction price could be higher than retail. As a rule, however, retail and insurance/replacement values are about the same.
Verbal approximations: The values given by the experts on ANTIQUES ROADSHOW are considered "verbal approximations of value." Technically, an "appraisal" is a legal document, generally for insurance purposes, written by a qualified expert and paid for by the owner of the item. An appraisal usually involves an extensive amount of research to establish authenticity, provenance, composition, method of construction, and other important attributes of a particular object.
Opinion of value: As with all appraisals, the verbal approximations of value given at ROADSHOW events are our experts' opinions formed from their knowledge of antiques and collectibles, market trends, and other factors. Although our valuations are based on research and experience, opinions can, and sometimes do, vary among experts.
Appraiser affiliations: Finally, the affiliation of the appraiser may have changed since the appraisal was recorded. To see current contact information for an appraiser in the ROADSHOW Archive, click on the link below the appraiser's picture. Our Appraiser Index also contains a complete list of active ROADSHOW appraisers and their contact details and biographies.
