Mount Washington Jar, ca. 1884
Appraised Value:
$2,000
IMAGE: 1 of 1
Appraisal Video: (2:36)
Appraisal Transcript:
GUEST: I got this piece from my great-grandmother. It came to me by her son to my uncle and then to me. I really thought it was unusual and pretty and feminine, and it spoke to me.
APPRAISER: Well, that's wonderful. It's a sweetmeat jar, which is basically for candies. And you had mentioned that you did a little bit of research.
GUEST: I had looked through a little antique guidebook that I had that talked about art glass, and it said that there was some kind of... I can't remember the name of it, but Mount Washington glass, that pink into yellow, it was kind of a neat thing.
APPRAISER: Well, I think what you found when you were researching was Burmese glass.
GUEST: That's the word.
APPRAISER: That was the word, "Burmese." Well, what you have here is a piece of Mount Washington glass. This glass was designed by Frederick Shirley of Mount Washington Glass, and they were located in Massachusetts. And Mount Washington Glass eventually was bought out by Pairpoint Glass, and this would have been about 1884.
GUEST: Oh, my gosh.
APPRAISER: So it's an early piece.
GUEST: Wow.
APPRAISER: And this intrigued me when I saw it, this pattern, and I was thinking it was octopus, um... but it's a starfish. And it's all the way around. We have three sections of jeweled area of starfish, and that's what caught my eye.
GUEST: Oh, wow.
APPRAISER: Under this is a hobnail. It's hard to see because it's blended into the glass, but it is considered hobnail. And um, this used to be called Albertine glass, but now it's commonly called Crown Milano.
GUEST: Crown Milano.
APPRAISER: Yes. The lid and the bail handle-- that's silverplate. Now, you started off on your research, and you were almost there, but not quite. Well, if you're able to get this cleaned up, this is a comfortable piece at $2,000.
GUEST: (gasps) Are you kidding?
APPRAISER: If you can't clean it up, then you might have to have a professional do a little resilvering. You might have to spend a little money to bring it up to that two.
GUEST: Oh, my gosh.
APPRAISER: It's a wonderful, wonderful piece.
GUEST: It is. I just can't believe it.
APPRAISER: Aren't you happy?
GUEST: I'm going to cry.
