1927 Rookwood Shirayamadani "Black Opal" Vase
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GUEST:
I found it in the attic after I purchased a home, and it's literally moved from the attic to the basement, where it resided until today.
APPRAISER:
So occupying a place of prominence in your basement.
GUEST:
In a box in the basement, hanging out, yeah.
APPRAISER:
And what made you bring it today?
GUEST:
I was looking for things to take, and it caught my eye, and I just-- "How about this one so."
APPRAISER:
Okay. I'm actually going to take this apart here.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
And we're going to start... We're going to take this off, we're going to take this... see you later.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
We're going to take this off, here. There we go. Long cord.
GUEST:
Long cord, yes. And voilà.
APPRAISER:
Voilà. Now it is a vase. And you actually got a peek at it before, so what do you know about it?
GUEST:
Right, and looking at this, I said, "This is not a typical lamp. It looks like a vase to me." And I pulled off the bottom and saw a stamp on there. And it was a Rookwood stamp.
APPRAISER:
Okay.
GUEST:
And I'd never seen a stamp like that before, so I was online, and able to see the stamp itself, and then a signature on the left there.
APPRAISER:
Okay.
GUEST:
And we got in the car and... the next day, and came here. So that's all I really know about it.
APPRAISER:
You are exactly right.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
This is a vase. It was made by Rookwood Pottery.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
And you noticed the artist's signature, a Japanese artist who's pretty well-known at Rookwood named Kataro Shirayamadani. It has Roman numerals here.
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
For 1927. There's a paper label down here, as well.
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
and it says, "Black Opal, $35."
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
So in 1927...
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
...this was $35.
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
$35 in 1927 actually is a pretty good sum of money. The black opal glaze is one of the more interesting glazes at the time. It has a black overglaze and a lot of carving. And as you see, all of these flowers, these daylilies, are carved by the artist. And there's hazing on it at the bottom. And it begins to shade up here. It's got beautiful blue tone. And until we saw the top removed, we had no idea what the lid was going to look like, how much damage might have been caused. It's looking good at the top. Okay. Now, as you know...
GUEST:
There is a hole on the bottom.
APPRAISER:
There is a hole in the bottom. (laughs).
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
And, you know, I have a phrase, which is, "You drill it ..."
GUEST:
You kill it.
APPRAISER:
"...you kill it."
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
And so when you see that, that usually indicates that something... unfortunately not's so good...
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
...with the vase.
GUEST:
It affects the value, sure.
APPRAISER:
But it's got its positive aspects, too.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
What do you think it's worth?
GUEST:
Well, just looking with the Rookwood, the symbol, and vases in general, there's a range from a couple of hundred to a couple of thousand.
APPRAISER:
Yeah.
GUEST:
So I said, "Because of the damage I was going to go about $500."
APPRAISER:
Okay. At auction, what would you say to $5,000 as a value?
GUEST:
That's so... that's wonderful. (laughs). Yeah, that's awesome.
APPRAISER:
And if it didn't have the hole? I would say probably $8,000 to $10,000.
GUEST:
Okay. I'm so happy. (laughs)
APPRAISER:
Not bad, huh?
GUEST:
That's amazing.
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