Antiques & Collecting: Della Robbia pottery

Would you believe that one of the most prominent figures in American art pottery came from England? Frederick Hurten Rhead was born in England in 1880 and started his ceramics career by working with his father, Frederick Alfred Rhead.

Talent for pottery apparently ran in the family; Frederick Hurten’s uncles George Woolliscroft Rhead and Louis John Rhead, his sister Charlotte and his brother Harry also worked in ceramics.

Frederick Hurten was the art director for Roseville Pottery in Ohio from 1904 to 1908. During his time as there, he created Roseville’s most famous art pottery line, Della Robbia.

This vase, which sold at Morphy Auctions for $5,632, is an excellent example of Roseville’s Della Robbia and the attention it receives at auctions.

This pottery line, named after a sculptor from the Italian Renaissance, features carved relief designs and multiple hand-applied glazes. Rhead created the designs, but other artists made the carvings and applied the glazes.

I recently inherited a stamp collection with over 6,000 stamps foreign and from the United States. It is believed to be from my grandfather back in the 1920s when he was in the Navy. The dates on the stamps are from the 1860s and 1870s to the 1930s. I would like to find out what the collection is worth or to sell certain stamps.

The best way to find a value for your stamps is to take them to an expert for an appraisal. Stamp collecting is highly specialized, and collectors and dealers alike tend to be very knowledgeable and passionate. Look for a specialized stamp dealer in your area.

Some coin and jewelry dealers also buy and sell stamps. Check the National Stamp Dealers Association, at www.nsdainc.org. The American Philatelic Society, at www.stamps.org, can help you find more resources.

Tip: Don’t like to haggle over prices? Write the price you will offer on a small card and give it to the dealer to consider. Or, ask the dealer to write down the lowest acceptable price. Probably a good ploy for very expensive antiques or art.

Current Prices

Fulper, lamp, perfume, figural, ballet dancer, shaded yellow tutu, yellow base, electric, 1920s, $60.

Picture, tinsel, still life, flowers, blue and white, green leaves, in vase, white, scrolled handles, foil ground, gilt frame, late 19th century, 27 1/2 x 23 1/2 inches, $110.

Furniture, bureau, cottage, painted, four drawers, leafy vine, wood pulls, leaf escutcheons, paneled sides, shaped apron, bracket feet, Victorian, 35 x 38 1/2 x 17 inches, $130.

Rug, Swedish, flatweave, seven horizontal panels, geometrics alternating with serrated chevrons, blue, white, tan, fringed ends, 6 feet 8 inches x 4 feet 7 inches, $385.

Silver plate, place card holder, figural, frog, head raised, bulging eyes, box, Saint Hilaire, Paris, 20th century, 1 1/4 inches, 18 pieces, $505.

Pottery-Asian, vase, copper red glaze, shades to black, vertical ridges, small closed handles, short foot, earthenware, Japan, 12 inches, $1,150.

Fireplace, chenets, andirons, gilt bronze, dragon, head turned, wings and tail extended, hoof front feet, on rectangular base, Napoleon III, 14 1/2 x 19 1/2 x 5 3/4 inches, $3,584.