Large Green Teco Vase, ca. 1910

Appraised on: July 14, 2007

Appraised in: San Antonio, Texas

Appraised by: Riley Humler

Category: Pottery & Porcelain

Episode Info: San Antonio, Hour 1 (#1207)

Originally Aired: February 18, 2008

IMAGE: 1 of 1  

Appraisal Video: (2:56)

GUEST: Now, I got this vase from my mother when we built our home. She gave it to me, but before then, I can remember it as long as I've lived that it was on my grandmother's front porch. My grandmother gave it to my mother when she built her home. So Mother passed that on to us and it's been on my front porch for at least 18 years. And then one day, a friend who has a little antique shop came by and before she got in the front door, she turned and looked and she said, "Why is that on your front porch?" And I said, "Because that's where it belongs." It had umbrellas in it. It had canes in it. All the old folks - kept it on their front porch. And she said, "You bring that in. That is a Teco." And I did not know, had never heard of Teco pottery.

APPRAISER:: Okay.

GUEST: And she said, "I'm sure it's a Teco. Let me see if it's signed or what." So we carefully turned it over and it was Teco. So I did bring it in the house and kept umbrellas in it, and canes and so forth. And I am curious if I need to put it back on the porch. Put it back on the porch...

APPRAISER: Okay, I think we can solve that question.

GUEST: All right.

APPRAISER: You don't know where your grandmother got it?

GUEST: No, my family is from Maryland.

APPRAISER: Okay.

GUEST: And I'm pretty sure she bought it in Baltimore.

APPRAISER: Well, it is Teco.

GUEST: We figured that out.

APPRAISER: You know that.

GUEST: Uh-huh.

APPRAISER: Made around Chicago, but sold at a lot of different places, and particularly interesting to collectors are large pieces like this.

GUEST: Uh-huh.

APPRAISER: We know that Frank Lloyd Wright used a lot of Teco in some of his installations. And Teco, being a uniformly green piece. What's nice about this is the size and the strap handles, which are applied-- typically Teco is molded. These are hand-applied handles and the piece is in nice condition with the exception of some chips around the base.

GUEST: Yes.

APPRAISER: That doesn't help, but when you get Teco as big as this, those don't matter as much. Roughly what had you thought it to be worth?

GUEST: Well, this friend said that she thought it could be from $6,000 to $8,000.

APPRAISER: Okay, well, I think at auction,

GUEST: Uh-huh.

APPRAISER: a vase like this would sell between $15,000 and $20,000.

GUEST: Oh, my goodness. It stays in the house.

APPRAISER: It's going to stay in the house?

GUEST: It's going to stay in the house.

GUEST: I think that's an excellent idea.

APPRAISER: Oh, my good...

GUEST: How much?

APPRAISER: Between $15,000 and $20,000 at auction.

GUEST: 15 and 20. Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER: You want to take good care of it.

GUEST: I will. I will indeed.