Antiques & Collecting: Enamel art

Enamel has been used in decorative arts since at least the Middle Ages. It was especially popular in Europe and Asia in the 18th and 19th centuries.

With this in mind, it may sound like an unlikely medium for the 20th century. But modern art embraces the unexpected.

Karl Drerup, an artist who trained in painting, illustration and ceramics in Berlin and Florence, then emigrated with his wife in the 1930s to escape the rise of fascism, started making enamels in New York in the 1930s.

Later, he would call himself “the first one in New York who made any enamels at all.” That may have contributed to his success; the Metropolitan Museum of Art purchased one of his decorated bowls in 1940.

Drerup’s enamels have a distinctive style with vibrant, abstract scenes of natural elements or human figures in bright colors, like this copper plaque called “The Merry Makers” that sold for $2,750 at a Rago auction.

I have a lot of paper money and coins and would like to know what they are worth.

It takes a specialist to determine the value of coins and paper money. A numismatics, or coin collecting, club, dealer or auction house may be able to help you.

Some are listed in the Kovels.com Business Directory. The American Numismatic Association, www.money.org, would be a good place to start.

Tip: Repairs on standing figures or pitchers should be made from the bottom up.

Current Prices

Photography, camera, movie, H-8, 8 mm, holds 100-foot, 50-foot and 25-foot spools of double-run film, Tri Focal viewfinder, three focal lengths, Paillard-Bolex, 1961, 8 1/2 x 3 x 6 inches, $85.

Toy, animal, seal, Robby, head raised, brown fur, white underside, googly eyes, plush nose, whiskers, stitched flippers and tail, button and tag on flipper, Steiff, 15 x 32 inches, $265.

Cane, walking stick, silver knob, raised flower and leafy scrolled garland, hallmarks, Gorham, 19th century, 35 1/2 inches, $290.

Furniture, cupboard, Anglo-Indian, fruitwood, two paneled doors over two side-by-side drawers, shaped apron, ebonized inlay, turned legs, late 1800s, 81 x 56 1/2 x 21 1/2 inches, $600.

Pottery, vase, Santa Clara Pueblo, engagement pot, blackware, knotted handle, incised geometrics, signed, Helen Shupla, 8 x 7 inches, $720.

Rug, Ersari, Afghan, runner, blue ground, orange, ivory and cobalt medallions, triple border, 11 feet 8 inches, $1,025.

Silver-Persian, tray, rectangular, center village scene, two incised leafy garland borders, repousse rim, figures, flowers in corners, 12 1/2 x 16 1/2 inches, $1,140.

Advertising, sign, “Dog ‘n Suds,” red lettering, cartoon dog’s head with chef’s hat and bow tie, hot dog and mug of root beer, yellow ground, diamond shape, tin, 16 x 16 inches, $2,880.