Porcelain pieces made by small potteries and decorating shops in and around Paris in the 18th and 19th centuries are referred to as “Old Paris Porcelain” or simply “Paris Porcelain.”

Unmarked 18th- & 19th-century porcelain is a puzzle to everyone, even among dealers and experts. Trying to attribute an unmarked piece at first glance can often bring more than one conclusion. This is especially true if the piece is similar to examples by “big name” makers such as Sevres, Chelsea, Worcester or Meissen. Among the potters of the early 19th century who often did not mark their wares, there were several small porcelain factories and decorating shops in France—by estimates some 30 or so that operated from the end of the Napoleonic era through to the Franco-Prussian War (1815-1871). Today, we generically refer to pieces made by these small potteries and decorating shops as “Old Paris Porcelain” or simply “Paris Porcelain.”

As the name suggests, most of these potteries were located in Paris and had to compete with the famous and well-established Royal Manufactory at Sevres. The Paris porcelain makers got around major competition from Sevres by being ahead of the curve, adapting to the latest styles and decorating trends quicker than Sevres and developing patrons among the lesser nobility and rising merchant classes. One would imagine that then, like today, their style-conscious customers enjoyed having Sevres styled porcelain, but at a price they could afford.

It’s estimated that 70 percent of Paris porcelain made during its peak of popularity had no company marks at all and were not recorded in a way we can use to identify pieces today. Many of the Old Paris artisans also worked with blanks—or “white wares” —that had originally been produced at Limoges (and even at Sevres), but were not marked as such until the late 19th century.

Pieces made by these lesser-known Paris potteries are generally of high quality, with some pieces as good as those of the famous Sevres factory they competed against. Today, Paris Porcelain is still a bargain, as comparable examples of Paris Porcelain plates like the one above currently sell at auction in the $180-$250 range.

Mike Wilcox, of Wilcox & Hall Appraisers, is a Worthologist who specializes in Art Nouveau and the Arts and Craft movement.

———————————

WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

Join WorthPoint on Twitter and Facebook.

One of four matching American Gothic bookcases from the historic Annesdale mansion-villa in Memphis will be among the items up for bid at a March 13, 2010 auction to be hosted by Hal Hunt Auctions in Northpoint, Ala.

NORTHPORT, Ala. – Contents from the historic Annesdale mansion-villa in Memphis, Tenn., plus several other private Southern collections and a marvelous collection of antique guns, will highlight a sale scheduled for Saturday, March 13, 2010. The event will be facilitated by Hal Hunt Auctions.

Annesdsale is a beautiful structure, originally built in 1855 by Dr. Samuel Marsfield as a wedding present for his wife. In 1869, a Mr. Robert Brinkley bought the mansion as a wedding gift for his daughter, Annie Overton Brinkley. The 200-acre estate (pronounced “Annie’s Dale”) was named in her honor. The treasures of Annesdsale comprise the collective assembly of five generations of one family.

In 1876, Annie and her husband, Col. Robert Bogardus Snowden, spent their wedding anniversary at the Philadelphia Exposition, where they purchased many fine and unique furniture items that will be included in the sale. Their purchases included a 14-foot-long banquet table with matching marble-top sideboard, and a fantastic king-size bed with matching ornate mirror.

In 1932, the Snowdens purchased four magnificent and matching Gothic bookcases (also to be sold, with the sales receipt from 1932 and photographs) from the heirs of Helen Johnstone Harris, known as the “Bride of Annandale.” Annandale is another mansion estate, similar in name to Annesdale, located in Madison County, Miss., and burned to the ground years ago.

Harris was known as the Bride of Annandale because, on the eve of her wedding to Henry Vick, he was tragically killed in a duel. Three years later, she married a Confederate Episcopal chaplain, George Harris, and the couple built a mansion at Mt. Helena Plantation in Rolling Fork, Miss. The bookcases and other furnishings were moved by rail to Rolling Fork.

One of a pair of 19th century Old Paris porcelain figures (the other a woman) that will be on the block.

Some of the other items that will be sold at the March 13 auction include a Regina bow-front music box changer made around 1900, playing 15½-inch discs and rare because it has a stained glass door (not a plain glass door); numerous pieces of Sevres and Old Paris porcelain; and a John H. Belter rosewood dressing vanity, rosewood bed and étagère in the Rosalie pattern.

Also set to cross the block will be monumental bronze clock sets with cherubs; several pieces of great Pottier & Stymus Victorian furniture; and furniture by R.J. Horner, to include a winged lady’s partner’s desk, a winged desk and dining room table; a triple-door bookcase with Atlas men; and a matched pair of winged griffin lamps tables, about 42 inches in circumference.

Clocks made by R.J. Horner will include an 8½-foot-tall mahogany grandfather clock with winged griffins and cherubs, and an oak grandfather clock labeled Tiffany. Also sold will be furniture by Thomas Brooks; a J. & J.W. Meeks laminated marble-top center table; and old paneled glass lamps and leaded glass lamps by makers such as Wilkinson and Chicago Mosaic.

This highly carved black walnut clock was made by Ferdinand Lapp.

The bed furnished by the Snowdens at the Philadelphia Exposition of 1876 is a high-back Renaissance bed, an oversized queen (almost king) at 69 inches by 82 inches and with bronze plaques. Also purchased at the Exposition was a highly carved black walnut clock, similar to a mantel clock and made by Ferdinand Lapp. The clock was so striking it won awards at the show.

Rounding out the expected top lots: an acanthus carved 4-poster bed, 10 feet tall (from Annesdale); two gold leaf, 8-foot-tall over-the mantel mirrors in original condition (also from Annesdale); a 19th-century rose medallion center bowl with bronze mounts; two walnut Victorian regulator grandfather clocks (one a Gilbert, Regulator #7; and one an Ansonia, Regulator #11); and a monumental Mitchells & Rammelsberg walnut half tester bed, 9 ½ feet tall, circa 1865.

Antique paintings and sterling silver pieces will also cross the block. In all, around 400 lots will come up for bid in a sale that will have no Internet bidding or phone bidding; only an in-house crowd and absentee bids will be accepted. A preview is scheduled for Friday, March 12.

For more information about this auction, call 205.333.2517, e-mail to halhunt [at] bellsouth [dot] net or visit the Hal Hunt Auctions Web site.

——————————————

WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

Join WorthPoint on Twitter and Facebook.

Will Seippel, the founder, CEO and president of WorthPoint, recently discovered a pair of these 18th-century Sevres end pieces at an estate sale after many people passed them over, including a pair of expert appraisers, who tagged them at $125 each. Their true value is much, much more.

Just as the everyday collector hopes to come across a Great Find—an item bypassed by many, purchased for a pittance and worth thousands—experts can miss a valuable item staring them in the face.

Will Seippel, the founder, CEO and president of WorthPoint, recently had such an experience.

Will wanted to attend a private estate sale in the Buckhead neighborhood of Atlanta, but circumstances—in this case a late flight back from Ohio—had delayed his arriving at the sale. By the time he got there, there were only minutes left before it closed for the day at 5 p.m.

“I thought I could get them to apply their second-day 50-percent-off discount early, if I found anything,” Will said.

But after briefly talking with the organizers of the sale, Will had learned that most of the estate’s pieces had been sold ealier in the day, prior to his arrival. Additionally, the sales company had hired two appraisers to help evaluate prices before the sale. So, he thought, finding anything worthwhile was going to be a longshot.

Still, Will decided to look over what was left. His eyes were immediately drawn to a pair of white porcelain pieces—each with four cherubs surrounding a pillar holding up a low bowl. He looked at the tags: $125 each.

He picked one up and turned it over: “I thought I recognized the mark on the bottom and knew immediately I had something.”

The pieces were early porcelain, 18th-century French, Will thought, judging by the irregular salt-glazed finish. They were also made in pieces and then combined into the final piece, as the “technology” did not exist in the early 1700’s to mold such intricate and large pieces in one mold.

A mark and the iron assembly helped to determine the identity of this circa 1740 Sevres end piece.

“They were also sophisticated in the detail and that the floral decoration is usually indicative of Meissen porcelain of the period, but the puttis/cherubs were typically French,” Will said. “The square iron bolts holding them together also dated them.”

What he had found, hiding in plain sight from all the experts and experienced buyers all day long, Will decided, were Sevres porcelain end pieces.

Still, he stood there for a few moments, blinking, because he couldn’t believe what he was holding.

Well, it was time to buy. Since it was 5 p.m. and the end of the first day sale, Will asked the persons conducting the sale to give him second-day pricing to save a trip back the next morning, and possibly waiting in line. He ended up with a very good deal, if not a textbook “Great Find.”

The sophistication in the detail and that the floral decoration is usually indicative of Meissen porcelain of the period, but the puttis/cherubs are typically French.

After getting his buy home, he called Thom Pattie, WorthPoint’s chief Worthologist, who, looking at photos send via e-mail, confirmed that Will had indeed made a good buy: the pieces were marked in an early Sevres mark and were made about 1740.

Wow, a pair of Sevres end pieces in great condition, acquired at a steal at $100, that are easily worth $1,000 to $3,000 each. This story only goes to show that when on the hunt for a Great Find, don’t disregard an item just because an “expert” passed on it.

Gregory Watkins is the editor of WorthPoint.com.

WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

Join WorthPoint on Twitter and Facebook.