Newcomb College Vase, ca. 1930

Appraised on: August 18, 2007

Appraised in: Las Vegas, Nevada

Appraised by: Suzanne Perrault

Category: Pottery & Porcelain

Episode Info: Las Vegas, Hour 1 (#1216)

Originally Aired: May 12, 2008

IMAGE: 1 of 1  

Appraisal Video: (2:27)

GUEST: We were on the way home from a dog show and we stopped at kind of a cross between a garage sale and a rummage sale type of thing and I just saw it and liked it because I like the moon on it. And so I bought it.

APPRAISER: And you paid...?

GUEST: Five dollars.

APPRAISER: Well, you have a beautiful piece of Newcomb College pottery. Newcomb College pottery was part of Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana. Now, the pieces at Newcomb are hand-thrown, and they were hand-thrown by a male potter, and then they were decorated by ladies at the school. The glaze is typical-- the matte blue, the matte green, the handcarving of the piece. It is hand-thrown, as I said, so there are absolutely no mold marks whatsoever. This type of decoration is typical of a bayou scene in Louisiana. It has live oak trees and Spanish moss and a full moon. We see these always in this matte... or sort of waxy matte glaze. Now, if we look underneath, we have several marks here that help us. The "N.C." for Newcomb College, although there are other potteries that use "N.C.," so "N.C." alone is not enough to tell you that it's a real mark. You have a "J.H." for Jonathan Hunt, and he was the thrower there starting in about 1930. You have an "S.I.," for Sadie Irvine. And she was one of their most prolific artists. And then you have letters and numbers. And the letters here, starting with an "S," would date it to about 1930 or 1931. Now, it's a very nice pot. It has a good size to it. This piece was carved and then fired and then glazed and then fired. And the definition is a little soft. There's like a little bit of melting effect, if you look closely. However, it is still beautiful. It still has everything going for it, still has a nice, big size. And a conservative auction estimate would be $3,000 to $4,000.

GUEST: Oh, my gosh. Oh, good Lord. Probably drop it on the way home.