Cottier & Company Painted Tile, ca. 1880

Appraised on: June 28, 1997

Appraised in: Atlanta, Georgia

Appraised by: Nicholas Dawes

Category: Pottery & Porcelain

Episode Info: Atlanta (#1625)

Originally Aired: July 9, 2012

IMAGE: 1 of 4  

Appraisal Video: (2:30)

APPRAISER: How long have you had this?

GUEST: I've had it about 35 years.

APPRAISER: Do you mind telling me what you paid for it, Bill?

GUEST: Somewhere in the neighborhood of around $60 to $75.

APPRAISER: Well, it's a painting on tile panel that was probably done in the early 1880s. It's very typical of the English aesthetic style, a style we associate with the painter Walter Crane, the illustrator, and particularly the pre-Raphaelite movement in English oil painting. She's magnificently painted. You've had it a long time, and I wouldn't be surprised-- and don't let me embarrass you-- if it hasn't been cleaned that much since then. I'm going to clean a small area just with a wet wipe here. This is not an oil painting, so I'm not damaging it. It's painted in enamels on glazed earthenware. This would come up beautifully. What I notice on the bottom here is a little signature of the artist, and the name is Cottier. I don't know if you can just pick that up, but we needn't bother with that signature because it's beautifully signed on the back. There's no doubt about this-- Cottier & Company. Cottier & Company worked on pieces made by well-made and well-known English manufacturers, including the Minton company. This tile panel was made by the Minton factory, and we can date it because this symbol in the center here-- looks like a kind of wheel with a cross-- tells us it was made in 1882. That's right at the right time for Cottier & Company to be decorating. So we have a wonderful example of a Minton tile panel painted by a rare decorating studio with their mark—something that's not widely recorded. I'm going to turn it around one more time so we can just see how magnificent she really is. I think you've made a very good investment, Bill. You have a piece here with a value today of, I would estimate, at least $4,000 and perhaps as much as $6,000.

GUEST: $4,000 to $6,000?

APPRAISER: That's correct, sir. Thank you for bringing her in.

GUEST: Oh! I almost lost my glasses over that one.