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1914 Durant Kilns Tray with Base

Value (2010) | $1,000 Auction – $2,000 Insurance
Watch  

GUEST:
I grew up on a sugarcane plantation. My stepfather passed away, and this piece was left to me. I went on the Internet recently, about last week, and pulled up "Durant" and what I found out was that these pieces he had done in Europe in the year of 1914.

APPRAISER:
These pieces are both signed Durant, and they are both dated 1914.

GUEST:
Yes, correct.

APPRAISER:
The name of the potter was Leon Volkmar. His father was also a potter. His name was Charles Volkmar. And Charles studied in France, studied painting and pottery, and came back here and set up business with his son in Metuchen, New Jersey. And after a while, the father and the son split up. And the son set up his own pottery, Durant Kilns, in Bedford Village, New York. And he did this with a woman called Jean Durant Rice.

GUEST:
Wow.

APPRAISER:
Jean was in charge of doing a lot of the throwing of the pots.

GUEST:
Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER:
And Leon would work on glazes and the concept of glazes.

GUEST:
Okay.

APPRAISER:
And so what we see, usually, of Leon's works, which were completely different from his father's works, are these beautiful glazes, which are very Persian looking, and almost all of his glazes are like that. And they worked very hard to come up with these gorgeous glazes, which are usually crackled and darkened and either in a lovely Persian blue like this or in an eggplant, which they called aubergine.

GUEST:
Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER:
In white... and there's a couple more colors.

GUEST:
Wow.

APPRAISER:
What I particularly like about this piece is that it comes on a base.

GUEST:
Yes.

APPRAISER:
This alone, not so much value. But with the base, that's really cool. The base is also earthenware and has a different kind of Persian glaze, that one being matte gold. There are very few of these. Maybe another one is known like this with this base.

GUEST:
Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER:
So it's really quite rare.

GUEST:
My goodness.

APPRAISER:
Now, the value of most of these glazed items has not gone up in the last ten or 20 years, and they're difficult to sell, but what's special about this is that it is a two-part piece and that it has this great Egyptian revival base with the Sphinx. As an auction estimate, I would easily put $1,000 to $2,000 on it.

GUEST:
Oh, my goodness.

APPRAISER:
And if you wanted an insurance value, maybe more on the $2,000 side.

GUEST:
I'm very surprised! Thank you so very much.

Support provided by: Learn more

Appraisal Details

Appraiser
Suzanne Perrault
Pottery & Porcelain
Rago-Wright-LAMA Auctions
Lambertville, NJ
Appraised value (2010)
$1,000 Auction – $2,000 Insurance
Featured In
Biloxi, Hour 2 (#1514)
Event
Biloxi, MS (July 24, 2010)
Category
Pottery & Porcelain
Period
20th Century
Form
Saucer , Tray
Material
Earthenware , Pottery

Executive producer Marsha Bemko shares her tips for getting the most out of ANTIQUES ROADSHOW.

Value can change: The value of an item is dependent upon many things, including the condition of the object itself, trends in the market for that kind of object, and the location where the item will be sold. These are just some of the reasons why the answer to the question "What's it worth?" is so often "It depends."

Note the date: Take note of the date the appraisal was recorded. This information appears in the upper left corner of the page, with the label "Appraised On." Values change over time according to market forces, so the current value of the item could be higher, lower, or the same as when our expert first appraised it.

Context is key: Listen carefully. Most of our experts will give appraisal values in context. For example, you'll often hear them say what an item is worth "at auction," or "retail," or "for insurance purposes" (replacement value). Retail prices are different from wholesale prices. Often an auctioneer will talk about what she knows best: the auction market. A shop owner will usually talk about what he knows best: the retail price he'd place on the object in his shop. And though there are no hard and fast rules, an object's auction price can often be half its retail value; yet for other objects, an auction price could be higher than retail. As a rule, however, retail and insurance/replacement values are about the same.

Verbal approximations: The values given by the experts on ANTIQUES ROADSHOW are considered "verbal approximations of value." Technically, an "appraisal" is a legal document, generally for insurance purposes, written by a qualified expert and paid for by the owner of the item. An appraisal usually involves an extensive amount of research to establish authenticity, provenance, composition, method of construction, and other important attributes of a particular object.

Opinion of value: As with all appraisals, the verbal approximations of value given at ROADSHOW events are our experts' opinions formed from their knowledge of antiques and collectibles, market trends, and other factors. Although our valuations are based on research and experience, opinions can, and sometimes do, vary among experts.

Appraiser affiliations: Finally, the affiliation of the appraiser may have changed since the appraisal was recorded. To see current contact information for an appraiser in the ROADSHOW Archive, click on the link below the appraiser's picture. Our Appraiser Index also contains a complete list of active ROADSHOW appraisers and their contact details and biographies.

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