1862 Minton Majolica Fountain
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GUEST:
I saw an ad in a paper. It says, "An estate sale." And I thought, "I'd better check this out." This was just about 30 years ago.
APPRAISER:
Okay.
GUEST:
And I walked in, and my eyes spotted this magnificent majolica fountain.
APPRAISER:
And you had to have it.
GUEST:
And I had to have it.
APPRAISER:
It's made by the English firm of Minton. And there was a man named Minton who had traveled through Europe. And going through the French region of Rouen in 1849, he found a type of semi-opalescent glaze that he wanted to put on his wares. He went back and instructed his factory to start making these wares. Now, some of the best artists of the time were commissioned to create sculptures and designs which he incorporated into his fountains. Each piece of majolica, especially from this time period, is marked with a date cipher. So if we look on the bottom here, you will see that triangle and cross conform to the year 1862.
GUEST:
Oh, yes.
APPRAISER:
See how marvelously it's, it's modeled.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
Down here at the bottom.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
You have the beautiful mask, and the foliate festoons, terminating in mask handles. It is just a fantastic piece of majolica. It's wonderful. Now, I noticed that there was a monogram here.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
Did you have a story about that at all?
GUEST:
Yes, yes. I was told that it was made for Alfred, Lord Tennyson, the poet. The story goes that he had returned from Italy, and at that time he had been made the poet laureate.
APPRAISER:
Right.
GUEST:
And this was a presentation to him from his neighbors.
APPRAISER:
It's certainly a possibility. What we can say for certain is that it's just about as good a piece of majolica as you're going to find.
GUEST:
Really?
APPRAISER:
It's just wonderful. Let me ask a question. How much did you pay for it 30 years ago?
GUEST:
$300.
APPRAISER:
Did you really?
GUEST:
(laughing) Yeah.
APPRAISER:
Do you know how much it's worth now?
GUEST:
Tell me.
APPRAISER:
It's worth probably about $30,000 to $50,000.
GUEST:
Yow! (laughs)
APPRAISER:
It's a wonderful piece.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
And I understand you use it as a planter.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
Well, keep good plants in it, for goodness's sake.
GUEST:
(laughing) Orchids.
APPRAISER:
There you go, perfect.
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