Antique or Junque by Anne McCollam

Q: I found the pictured small porcelain antique dish in a house I bought several years ago. It measures 6 inches long by 4 inches wide and is in perfect condition. The back contains a blue Rising Sun mark with the words "Hand Painted — Nippon."

What can you tell me about it?

A: "Nippon" is the Japanese word for Japan. Marked "Nippon," these collectable objects were made between 1891 and around 1921. The Noritake Porcelain Co. used the Rising Sun mark.

Your early 20th-century dish would probably be worth $50 to $60.

Q: I am curious about my pottery vase. It is decorated with stylized trees against a dark-blue matte glaze and stands 6 inches tall. I have enclosed the mark that is on the bottom of the vase.

What can you tell me about the age, maker and value of this vase?

A: Marblehead Pottery used the enclosed mark. The pottery was founded in 1904 by Herbert J. Hall as an art therapy project for his patients in a rehabilitation program. In 1915, under the direction of chemist Arthur E. Baggs, the pottery lines became so successful that it became a commercial endeavor.

The pottery designs were simple and often finished with marine or nature motifs. Most of the glazes were matte in shades of blue, yellow, gray, rose, green, wisteria or tobacco brown. Marblehead Blue was the most popular type of glaze. The pottery company closed in 1936.

Created in the early 1900s, your vase would probably fetch $3,000 to $3,500 in an antiques shop.

Q: While sorting things out for a move, I discovered a Robeson pocketknife that belonged to my father. Probably made from ivory, it is around 3 inches long and in very good condition.

My father was born in 1900; he has been dead for almost 40 years, so the pocketknife must be old.

Does it have any value?

A: Your father's pocketknife is most likely made of either bone or ivory celluloid. In 1847, Robeson Knives Co. was established in New York. In the beginning, knives sold for 25 cents, and by the 1930s were selling at $1 each. Today, similar vintage knives would probably be worth $100 to $150 each.

Q: My Russian-born grandmother, who is now deceased, left me a glass bowl. It stands about 7 inches tall and does not have a manufacturer's mark. She said it was a "spoon bowl."

I would like to know more about a "spoon bowl" and whether it has any value.

A: You have an antique spoon holder, which is also called a spooner. Used to hold spoons, it was part of a glass table setting that included a spooner, water pitcher, cream pitcher, sugar bowl and a celery holder. Most sets were created from pressed glass — some with designs that were similar to cut glass patterns.

Your spooner was made in the last quarter of the 19th century and would sell in the range of $35 to $55 in an antiques shop.

Address your questions to Anne McCollam, P.O. Box 247, Notre Dame, IN 46556. Items of a general interest will be answered in this column. Due to the volume of inquiries, she cannot answer individual letters. To find out more about Anne McCollam and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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