Wood artwork can no longer be neglected

  • By Terry and Kim Kovel
  • Wednesday, September 2, 2015 3:11pm
  • Life

Glass, pottery, bronze, silver and of course, paper and canvas, are all used to make important, and often expensive, works of art. But wood has been somewhat neglected as art, although highly regarded for useful furniture.

Eighteenth-century furniture was made with hand tools and decorated with carvings, inlay and the selection of attractive grain in the woods. The nineteenth century increased the amount of carved decoration. By the 1890s, there were Black Forest benches, tables, hall trees, and other furniture held by life-sized carved wooden bears.

Twentieth-century craftsman and artist George Nakashima (1905-1990) made his unique wooden art furniture from slabs of wood. Wendell Castle (born 1932) made modern furniture, including a carved wooden coat and hat rack holding a wooden coat, and a park bench that appears to be growing from a tall tangle of vines.

Artists today are using wood to make sculptures, statues, puzzle boxes and huge burl bowls that are sold at art galleries, not furniture stores. Now is the time to start collecting wooden art. There are artists making everything from realistic to abstract and science fiction inspired carvings. Go to art shows, or just browse the internet and find the carvings that you admire. Trust your taste. There are caricatures, humorous figures, life-size statues and tiny imaginary animals.

A talented Italian artist, Livio De Marchi, makes life-like carvings of everyday items. He leaves them unpainted so the wood grain and defects will show. A golf bag with six clubs, a single piece of carved wood, sold for $3,240 at a recent Skinner auction in Boston.

Q: I have two gunpowder dispensers that I believe are from the Civil War era and belonged to a relative who fought in that war. One is made of copper and the other of leather. Both are in great condition and work well. One still has grains of gunpowder in it. Is there any monetary or historical value to these items? I’m considering donating them to a museum.

A: First, get rid of the gunpowder! Old explosives can be dangerous. You can take the powder flask to a gun range and ask them to dispose of the residual powder. Reenactors and people who collect Civil War memorabilia might be interested in your powder flasks, especially if you can give them information about your ancestor and his service in the Civil War. Powder flasks that are signed or have decoration sell for more than plain powder flasks. A signed copper Civil War powder flask sold for $47, and another for $135 recently. Leather powder flasks with historically significant decoration sell for $100 or more.

Q: I recently bought a bankers chair by W.B. Moses &Sons dated 1914. There doesn’t seem to be much information about their furniture. What can you tell me about the company and its furniture?

A: W.B. Moses opened a furniture store in Washington, D.C., in the 1860s. Business expanded and by 1898 W.B. Moses &Sons occupied several buildings, including shops and manufacturing facilities. The company redecorated some of the rooms in the White House in 1881, supplying new carpeting, drapes, and furniture. Value of your chair, $50-$100.

Q: I received this lamp from my mother-in-law. It’s brass, has a pierced corrugated frame over a burner, and a small plaque on the front that has a wolf and reads “Permissible Miners Flame Safety Lamp, Safety Lamp Co. of America.” It also has a tag with the number 28 and a hook for hanging. Can you tell me a little about its history and value?

A: You have a coal miner’s lamp, made by the Wolf Safety Lamp Co. of America of Brooklyn, N.Y. Until the development of safe electric lamps in the early 1900s, coal miners used flame lamps to provide light. Lamps with open flames could ignite flammable gas or dust and cause explosions, so safety lamps were invented to enclose the flame. Before World War I, Wolf was a distributor for safety lamps made in Germany. After the war, the company made lamp tools and accessories and their own safety lamps that burned naphtha, vegetable oil and carbide. Wolf operated until the 1960s. Your lamp burned a mixture of carbide and water. The “permissible” engraved on the lamp means it passed safety tests and was approved by the U.S. Bureau of Mines (in 1921), and the hang tag represents the miner’s number. Your lamp is from the early 1920s and is worth about $100.

Q: I have a hand-painted plate marked with a crown above a circle with an eagle inside. The name of the company is written around the circle. It looks like it might be Carrolton or Carrinton Pottery Co. Can you identify the maker?

A: Yes! The mark you describe is one of several used by Carrolltown Pottery Co., founded in Carrollton, Ohio, in 1903. It joined seven other potteries to form the American Chinaware Corporation in 1929. After the merger ended in 1931, Carrolltown Pottery continued to operate on its own until at least 1936.

Tip: To avoid breakage, glasses should be stored with the rims up. The rim is weak and easily chipped if bounced on a hard surface. Keep the glasses a half inch apart and never stack one inside the other.

Write to Terry Kovel and Kim Kovel at Kovels, The Herald, King Features Syndicate, 300 W. 57th St., New York, NY 10019.

Current prices

Current prices are recorded from antiques shows, flea markets, sales and auctions throughout the United States. Prices vary in different locations because of local economic conditions.

Clarice Cliff pottery vase, Bizarre shape, My Garden, painted, yellow, multicolor flowers, 5 x 31/2 inches, $120.

Royal Bayreuth pitcher, figural, lobster shape, painted, green handle, blue mark, 1900s, 7 inches, $230.

Trench art, paperweight, artillery shell, mounted on stepped base, patinated relief spelter, c. 1918, 23/4 x 51/2 x 41/4 inches, $275.

Stand, elephant foot, wood top, 73/4 x 8 x 8 inches, pair, $305.

Flag, American, 40-star, parade, glazed cotton muslin, inscribed Dr. Crawford, printed, hand stitched elements, 1889, 84 x 49 inches, $315.

Lamp, electric, two-light, reverse painted shade, shepherd &sheep, umbrella shape, Art Nouveau, Jefferson, 1920s, 231/2 x 17 inches, $320.

Rookwood, vase, iris glaze, mistletoe design, Laura Lindeman initials, c.1904, 41/2 x 31/2 inches, $420.

Inkwell, figural, grasshopper, cast iron, painted, c. 1900, 12 inches, $1,035.

Shutter, wood, louvered, two tiers, painted blue green, rounded top, c. 1880, 114 x 36 inches, $1,355.

Toy, Teddy’s Safari Troop Photographer figure, wood jointed, cloth clothes, holding camera, rifle, Schoenhut, 81/2 inches, $1,535.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Life

Sarah Jean Muncey-Gordon puts on some BITCHSTIX lip oil at Bandbox Beauty Supply on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024, in Langley, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Bandbox Beauty was made for Whidbey Island locals, by an island local

Founder Sarah Muncey-Gordon said Langley is in a renaissance, and she’s proud to be a part of it.

A stroll on Rome's ancient Appian Way is a kind of time travel. (Cameron Hewitt)
Rick Steves on the Appian Way, Rome’s ancient superhighway

Twenty-nine highways fanned out from Rome, but this one was the first and remains the most legendary.

Byrds co-founder Roger McGuinn, seen here in 2013, will perform April 20 in Edmonds. (Associated Press)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

R0ck ‘n’ Roll Hall of Famer Roger McGuinn, frontman of The Byrds, plans a gig in Edmonds in April.

Mother giving in to the manipulation her daughter fake crying for candy
Can children be bribed into good behavior?

Only in the short term. What we want to do is promote good habits over the course of the child’s life.

Speech Bubble Puzzle and Discussion
When conflict flares, keep calm and stand your ground

Most adults don’t like dissension. They avoid it, try to get around it, under it, or over it.

The colorful Nyhavn neighborhood is the place to moor on a sunny day in Copenhagen. (Cameron Hewitt)
Rick Steves: Embrace hygge and save cash in Copenhagen

Where else would Hans Christian Andersen, a mermaid statue and lovingly decorated open-face sandwiches be the icons of a major capital?

Last Call is a festured artist at the 2024 DeMiero Jazz Festival: in Edmonds. (Photo provided by DeMiero Jazz Festival)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Jazz ensemble Last Call is one of the featured artists at the DeMiero Jazz Festival on March 7-9 in Edmonds.

Kim Helleren
Local children’s author to read at Edmonds Bookshop

Kim Helleren will read from one of her books for kids at the next monthly Story Time at Edmonds Bookshop on March 29.

Chris Elliott
Lyft surprises traveler with a $150 cleaning charge

Jared Hakimi finds a $150 charge on his credit card after a Lyft ride. Is that allowed? And will the charge stick?

Inside Elle Marie Hair Studio in Smokey Point. (Provided by Acacia Delzer)
The best hair salon in Snohomish County

You voted, we tallied. Here are the results.

The 2024 Kia EV9 electric SUV has room for up to six or seven passengers, depending on seat configuration. (Photo provided by Kia)
Kia’s all-new EV9 electric SUV occupies rarified air

Roomy three-row electric SUVs priced below 60 grand are scarce.

2023 Toyota RAV4 Prime XSE Premium AWD (Photo provided by Toyota)
2023 Toyota RAV4 Prime XSE Premium AWD

The compact SUV electric vehicle offers customers the ultimate flexibility for getting around town in zero emission EV mode or road-tripping in hybrid mode with a range of 440 miles and 42 mile per gallon fuel economy.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.