What's the simplest way to identify whether a ceramic sculpture has value or not?
It's almost garage sale season and I always find myself drawn to ceramic pieces of art, especially old-looking antique ones. Someday I might find a rare piece and strike it rich (pipe dream, I know) and I wonder what I should look for when making a purchase. Any antiquers here care to share their secret?
Answers ( 2 )
In my opinion from years of garage-sale hunting, you first want to be attracted to the piece - you don't have to "love" it, but be drawn to it. And then when looking at the piece, look for makers marks, often found on the bottom of the ceramic. That's usually the best way to find more works of value. But point of fact is that most people who do buy, are relatively surprised to learn their work has value, so the ideal way is to first find it interesting to look at the piece. It can be old and relatively simple, or more ornate and decorative, but it should grab your attention in some way.
But if you really want to know beforehand and hunt purposefully, then it would be a good idea to familiarize yourself with some vintage and antique works, so that you are able to at least spot out some more familiar marks and styles. It takes some bit of knowledge to suss out good deals. And since Antique's Roadshow, many sellers are looking more at their works but some will get by sellers, so just become a little more educated. There are some pottery guides and collectors guides out there, it would be worth picking up a book or two, doing some online research and spending some time in antique stores that have multiple dealers, to browse around, have a look at some of the works.
Just a few weeks ago I found a wee small dish priced at 79 cents at a thrift store, and turns out the little thing is worth about $25. I liked what I saw first, turned it over and saw the makers mark which made me curious, so I bought it. It was in the realm of something I was looking for so buying it made sense, I didn't buy to try and resell, though I may someday. But also be aware of inexperienced sellers who think they know that something is worth more. For instance, there was one estate sale I went to, where they were selling a pair of pieces that they believed were ivory - they were not, they were plastic, ivory feels very different, but they were priced way too high for what they actually were..
So just start learning, pick up a book or two, do some antiquing to become more familiar with works.
last time i tried 2 answer this question i had to look up local antique dealers in that persons area... if you live near a large city like miami, l.a. chicago, new york etc... just type what u r lookin for and then put the condition that it is somewhere near your area code because more than likely they will want to look at it...best i can do answer wise hope it helps.