SO, WHAT'S IT WORTH?
Sewell: Holly Golightly would be pleased
February 6, 2010
John D. Sewell
SPECIAL TO THE STAR
Q: I bought this store jewellery case in north Minnesota about 12 years ago. The store owner originally had seven of them (four left when I met her). She told me she bought them in the early '60s at an auction in New York State where she was told they came from the Tiffany store in New York City. The case is unmarked, 89 centimetres high (35 inches) and 99 centimetres wide (39 inches). It's also very heavy and weighs well over 45 kilos (100 pounds). I wanted to buy two so I could use them as bedside tables but she wouldn't budge on her price of $700 each so I only got the one.
Margaret, Burlington
A: If this really did come from Tiffany's in New York, you've got yourself a nice piece with great provenance. The thing is, more research is needed to verify that information. You'd have to take a look at some archival photos of the old Tiffany store and hope to spot your case. While I have no reason to doubt the story, it's speculation, not provenance, until proven otherwise. This looks like a high-quality, Tiffany-worthy piece, but you never know. Tiffany was founded in 1837 by Charles Lewis Tiffany, who wanted to open a luxury goods store. Since then the Tiffany name has been synonymous with top quality the world over.
I think your case is worth in the $1,500 range, possibly more.
Q: I recently inherited this one-cup teapot and base from my mother who lived in the Netherlands. I believe it belonged to my grandmother who lived in Indonesia for two decades in the early 1900s. It stands 23 centimetres tall (nine inches) and there are no marks on either of the two pieces.
Thea, Guelph
A: This is something you might have had at your bedside if you were well-to-do in the late 1700s. The set is known as a veilleuse, which translates to "night vigil." That's because it offered sustenance through the night, especially for anyone who was under the weather and in need of nourishment. Sometimes, instead of a teapot, there was a bowl for food.
A tiny oil pot was kept lit inside the base, which served to keep the contents above nice and warm. The vents around the top of the base were there to prevent the heat from building up too much.
This set is made of porcelain, commonly called Paris porcelain, because it was made – you guessed it – in Paris, France. There were more than 30 factories in Paris producing porcelain between 1750 and 1860. A fine, undamaged veilleuse is hard to find. Surviving a few centuries is certainly no easy feat. Value-wise, I think your night vigil is worth about $850.
Q: I have this Manly watercolour, which I'd like to know more about. It measures 36 by 27 centimetres (14 by 10.5 inches). I understand C. M. Manly was in The Toronto Art Students' League.
Edward, Pickering
A: This is a wonderfully detailed watercolour. This kind of pastoral scene was a favourite with artists, especially during the 1800s when people revered their farm animals.
Charles MacDonald Manly (1855-1924) was born in Englefield Green, England. He studied at London's Heatherley School of Fine Art and Dublin's Metropolitan School of Art. He came to Toronto in 1876 and taught at the Ontario College of Art.
Manly was not only a member of the Toronto Art Students' League, he founded it in 1886. It served as a place where members could meet to work on their art, discuss it with other members and collaborate on projects. Manly is best known for his watercolours, but he also did some oils.
His favourite subjects were valleys and moors, many of them in Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and England.
This painting is particularly well done with very fine detail throughout and for that reason, I think, good value for the money. It's worth about $1,200, I'd say.
John D. Sewell is an antique and fine art appraiser.
To submit an item to his column, go to the
“Contact John” page at www.johnsewell
antiques.ca. Please measure your piece, say
when and how you got it, what you paid and list
any identifying marks. A high-resolution
JPEG photo must also be included.
(Only email submissions
accepted.) Appraisal values are estimates
only.
Toronto Star