Antiques Roadshow

GUEST: It was given to my husband's grandparents as a wedding gift.

Um, in around the early 1930s and has been passed through the family since.

APPRAISER: And they were from which region?

GUEST: They're from Ohio, I believe Akron.

Since we watch ANTIQUES ROADSHOW, we know a lot of ceramics come out of Ohio, so we kind of suspect maybe this is a piece from one of the artists in Ohio.

APPRAISER: The Arts & Crafts movement in this country started in the 1890s or so and went on until the early '20s.

And it's done in that period.

GUEST: Really?

APPRAISER: So it could indeed have been given as a wedding gift...

GUEST: Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER: ...but it would have been old then.

It's made somewhere between 1905 and 1915 or so.

GUEST: Really?

APPRAISER: This was made by the Grueby Pottery of Boston, Massachusetts.

GUEST: Oh!

Well, that's a surprise.

APPRAISER: It's one of the great potteries of this country.

The quality was wonderful.

And they really epitomized the Arts & Crafts movement because what they made was so organic looking...

GUEST: Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER: ...that it's been said it was like picking something out of a garden.

Like a cucumber or a squash.

GUEST: Right, uh-huh.

APPRAISER: They were looking to have a really vegetal glaze to most of their pieces.

GUEST: Uh-huh.

APPRAISER: Now, there's a few other glazes that they would use, like brown or blue-gray, for example, but the green is what they made most of, and that is the most collectible.

GUEST: Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER: Very pretty, too.

It's all hand-thrown.

GUEST: Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER: The leaves, which you see here, full-height leaves, were all rolled as little pieces of clay and put one at a time.

GUEST: Oh.

Is that so?

APPRAISER: And what makes this piece rare is that it has these little buds in between.

GUEST: Uh-huh.

APPRAISER: You don't see many of those.

And that these particular buds are not green, they're not yellow they're ivory.

GUEST: Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER: If you collect this, this is very good.

GUEST: Good!

APPRAISER: So the glaze is great, the shape is great, it's a nice, big size.

What is too bad about this is that it has several small chips on it.

But it's still wonderful.

GUEST: Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER: At auction, I would estimate that, conservatively...

GUEST: Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER: ...these days...

GUEST: Yes?

APPRAISER: ...at $4,500 to $6,500.

GUEST: Oh, wonderful.

It's been very informative.

I never would have known that.