Strawser Auctions- La Grange, Indiana

Last Thursday we attended an auction in LaGrange, Indiana held by Strawser Auctions. The ad said they had a good deal of vintage Rookwood Pottery, so we determined to see for ourselves. It was at the fairgrounds, and it was easy to find due to the red "Auction" signs that led you directly to it. There was plenty of parking, and the weather was perfect.



Strawser Auction at the Fairgrounds, LaGrange, Indiana.

There was no snack bar today, but a food truck came and parked out back to ensure we had plenty of refreshments. When all was said and done, there were probably only a total of thirty bidders, and nearly all of them were resellers. They also offered Internet bidding, which as usual tends to but a base on all of the prices for the lots.

Inside There was Plenty of Room.

I was told that an antique dealer who had booths in multiple antique malls was liquidating, which explained the large number of smaller pieces. Altogether there were probably fifty to sixty small Rookwood Pottery  productionware pieces, four artist signed pieces, and a good dozen oddball pieces. We are actually looking to stock up on small productionware pieces, so it was perfect.

The first selection of Rookwood Pottery.

We picked up five pieces out of this first selection, and most of the rest went to the Internet. None of them topped $100 except for the pink vase in the upper left decorated by Louise Abel. It went for $200 on the floor, which was a good deal in our estimation. The bookends went for $200 as well.

Plenty more Rookwood Pottery small Productionware

For the second batch of vintage Rookwood Pottery, the Internet bidders started pushing the prices, often hitting $130 for common pieces. Even so, we still managed to grab six of these at bargain prices. The taller blue piece on the left managed $180.

We also picked up two tall celedon lamps. Once removing the base and electronics, we now have a beautiful pair of Rookwood celedon vases. Even though the bases are drilled, they still display very nicely. We also picked up an oddball Rookwood devil-head ashtray done in bisque (#2437) and a Rookwood electric clock that actually still works (#7048).

Overall it was a good day, and although we did not get everything we wanted, we still managed some good deals on vintage and antique Rookwood art pottery.

Douglas Ross Auction, Hamilton, Ohio

Yesterday we headed out to an auction held by Douglas Ross in Hamilton, Ohio. An older couple was selling their home and moving into a smaller place, and needed to downsize.  It was a beautiful spring day, and the auction was held at the home.



Douglas Ross Auction, Hamilton, Ohio


There was very little in the way of vintage or antique art pottery or glass, but we had driven 2 hours for one particular piece. It is generally considered a bad practice in the business to invest most of a day and a bunch of gasoline to travel to an auction for a single piece. You may arrive to find it isn't available anymore, it may be damaged, or even worse, someone simply outbids you and you get "blanked". But every now and again you see something so nice that you cannot resist. And so we did not resist.



Carl Schmidt Venetian Harbor Scene

To our surprise, we found the piece inside the garage. A gorgeous 1925 Rookwood Pottery vase (Shape 925D) with a wonderful Venetian harbor scene. Decorated by the acclaimed artist Carl Schmidt, it is a rare find for collectors. It was a nice 8 1/2 inches high, and completely factory fresh. No chips, cracks, repairs, and amazingly absolutely no crazing. You just don't find these every day. However, such things never go cheap, and there were plenty of people were tossing out guesses as to the hammer price. To make things even worse, there were to be several phone bidders giving us concerns that the winning bid would be near to the retail value.

The bidding on the vase began at precisely 6:00pm, and we quickly defeated the phone bids. However, one other bidder in the crowd seemed determined to take it home. The price spiralled up, but in the end we were victorious. The cheerful crowd applauded us, and many people shook our hands an remarked on the high quality of the vase and congratulated us.

1925 Rookwood Carl Schmidt Venetian harbor vase

We will be honored to offer this amazing piece of vintage Rookwood Pottery for sale on our website and others, and look forward to finding a new home for this exquisite piece.

Cross Artifacts, Jeffersonville, Ohio

Yesterday we went to Jeffersonville, Ohio, to an auction held by Cross Artifacts. It was just a little outside of the town, at a large metal building surrounded by farms. It was very easy to find, and there was plenty of parking for the crowd that arrived. The spacious interior had lots of seating, and it was fairly easy to get through the tables to inspect the goods. There was a second ring for coins and furniture, but they were able to control the speaker systems to make it easy for everyone. We were surprised to find that the crowd of around 70 people were happy to pay retail prices for many of the items for sale, but of course as resellers we were looking for the undervalued items. We came away with a few nice Cowan pieces, a little McCoy and Van Briggle, and even a Moorcroft piece. Unfortunately the crowd seemed to be in a buying mood for the Rookwood art pottery, and we did not obtain any of the pieces available.

Rookwood pieces at Cross Artifacts auctions

The beautiful console bowl with candlesticks was in great condition, but sadly it was missing the matching flower frog. The winning bid came in at $545, which we consider to be a good retail price. The large beige vase garnered $225, with the smaller blue piece commanding $195. These were once again reasonable retail prices.

Overall we enjoyed the auction, the snack shop onsite had great chicken sandwiches, and although we did not come away with a large number of items it was certainly worth the trip.

Wickliff Auctions, Carmel, Indiana

On the last day of February, 2015, Wickliff Auctions produced a good sized estate auction in Carmel, Indiana. The auction was primarily jewelry and wall art, but there was a smattering of early American art pottery from several major manufacturers. The facilities were excellent as always, the staff was very professional and friendly, and the participants were of the highest caliber. Refreshments were provided throughout the auction, and a security officer was ever-present to ensure the safety of all involved. Catalogs were provided to all participants, with excellent descriptions and each lot sequentially numbered. Two large monitors provided images of the items as the came up for bid so that everyone could clearly see the items.

Sadly, there was only a single Rookwood Pottery lot, two small production vases.

The blue Rookwood vase was quite nice, shape  #2207 from 1926, and the other was from 1919, shape #2174 with a band of rooks around it. Both were in excellent condition, and the bids flew quickly. Unfortunately, an internet bidder carried the day with a bid of $275 for the pair, but with the 15% buyers fee (for internet bidders) and the 7% sales tax, the actual price paid was $335.50, with the shipping cost undisclosed. Not a bad price to place these into your collection, but too high for a reseller to make a decent profit. We have previously won similar pieces for half the price, and so we passed on this lot.

Overall it was a good day, with good conversation and a great auction company.

Belhorn Auctions, Ann Arbor Michigan

Last week there was really not much going on as far as Rookwood pottery was concerned.  A piece here, a few there, but nothing really attention-getting. The same can be said for this week, although  the Belhorn Auction in Ann Arbor, Michigan will be drawing collectors and dealers from all over. They have listed a few pieces of vintage Rookwood already, and it appears there may be more by the time the auctions starts on Feb 07, 2015 at 12:00 noon. Here is a little taste of what they have in store:

There are enough American art pottery pieces there to bring any serious dealer, including some interesting Weller and Roseville. The Kings Fortune is considering making the trip to check it out!

Sheridan & Associates, Xenia Ohio

Another great day at the Xenia, Ohio fairgrounds at an auction hosted by Sheridan and Associates. It was cold outside, but warm and toasty inside with a very large crowd. Fortunately, most of the folks there came for the pocket knives, primitives, and furniture. There were a few dozen pieces of vintage art pottery, and around 6 pieces of Rookwood art pottery.

Our first score was this nice little deco Rookwood vase from 1928, shape 2088 with a nice flowing blue mat glaze. Perfect in every way, and especially nice to see no crazing. Sure, it is production ware, but as high of quality as you can find.

Things got even better when a rare 1882 Harriet Wenderoth carved pitcher came to bid. Shape 56 and clearly artist signed, it is glossy glazed on the interior and appears to be unglazed on the exterior. Excellent undamaged piece with a very delicate design. We were very happy to post the winning bid and secure it.

A 1960's advertising mug went for $45.00, a small pink 1950's production ashtray with grapes went for $35.00, a vase similar to the first one above with a base chip went for $40.00. A small 4" jewel porcelain 1940's vase decorated in a style similar to Lorinda Epply went for $200, which may have been a bit overpriced. It had those long craze-cracks common to jewel porcelain, and was signed by an unknown junior artist with the initials "MF" underlined.

Overall a fun day, and well worth the trip. Both of these items should be available for sale later this week at The Kings Fortune.

Introduction

Hello everyone!

My name is Renee and I spend all of my time chasing down antique pottery and glass at auctions across the midwest. This blog will chronicle my adventures and finds, as well as include where I find the best deals and upcoming auctions. I will be focusing on Rookwood Pottery in this blog, so stay tuned and we will go on this journey together!

All of my rookwood art pottery finds will be available for sale at The Kings Fortune.