Sunderland Pink Lustre Jug, ca. 1855
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GUEST:
My ancestors are from Guernsey in the Channel Islands, and they came through Ellis Island in 1892. It was Daniel Dorries, who's the father in that picture.
APPRAISER:
That's the gentleman here?
GUEST:
Mm-hmm. He's my great- great-grandfather. This was taken in Guernsey, and it's Daniel's house.
APPRAISER:
And how does this letter here tie in with your information?
GUEST:
Um, those were notes that came with it. I inherited it from my great-aunt. I was glad that came with it, because it gave me a little bit of information, because I don't know much about it.
APPRAISER:
Well, some of them you believe, and some of them you have to take with a grain of salt.
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
And the jug. What do you know about it?
GUEST:
My great-aunt told me that it was very special, and she said-- and also in that older note-- that they used it for buttermilk, which seems amazing.
APPRAISER:
Yeah, I think this was more ornamental. Most of the pink lustre of this sort in a piece of earthenware was made in a town in England called Sunderland.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
Sunderland had numerous potteries. And there were several potteries that specialized in the manufacture and decoration of pink lustre on their wares. Now, one of the companies, Dixon & Company, was also known for doing a lot of commemorative wares.
GUEST:
Hmm.
APPRAISER:
Now, in England, any reason, any excuse to make commemorative wares for any occasion, they did it. We have flags on this side, and we have a nautical verse on the front.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm, which is so beautiful.
APPRAISER:
And then, on this side, we have these two nautical gentlemen holding their flags. Now if we go back to this side, the two portraits that we have on this side...
GUEST:
Uh-huh.
APPRAISER:
One is supposedly depicting Napoleon III.
GUEST:
Uh-huh.
APPRAISER:
And one is depicting Queen Victoria.
GUEST:
Mm.
APPRAISER:
Now, the way this is produced is with transfer prints. It's a printed decoration that has then been color-enhanced by hand.
GUEST:
Ah.
APPRAISER:
All of the designs here all represent the Crimean War.
GUEST:
Oh.
APPRAISER:
Now, the Crimean War took place between 1853 and 1856.
GUEST:
Uh-huh.
APPRAISER:
So it makes it relatively easy to date the jug between those periods.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
The alliance of France and England against Imperial Russia. So this was a bonded friendship between the two countries. And this was the reason that the jug was produced.
GUEST:
Ooh.
APPRAISER:
It's a very large example. Jugs they made in all different sizes, but this is really what I would call a beefy piece of pottery.
GUEST (laughs)
APPRAISER:
These jugs actually were tremendously popular, starting from about the mid-1980s. And we don't have as many collectors now as we used to have. And I think it probably even peaked then, versus what it might be worth now.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
On today's market, I would expect it to sell at auction somewhere in the $1,500 to $2,500 range.
GUEST:
Oh, wonderful.
APPRAISER:
It's in great condition, and I'm thrilled that you brought it in.
GUEST:
Oh, great.
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