In North America, summer, especially late summer, is butterfly season. Multiple generations hatch as caterpillars grow, pupate and emerge to pollinate flowers and lay eggs of their own.
If you would prefer a butterfly that lasts longer, they often appear in decorative arts and jewelry, like this pin or pendant that sold for $594 at New Orleans Auction Galleries. Real-life butterflies are admired for the striking colors and patterns of their wings, but this pin dazzles with gemstones. Its colors come from about 1.72 carats of sapphires.
While the name of the stone is synonymous with a brilliant shade of blue, sapphires can come in many other colors, as they do here. About 2.90 carats of diamonds add more sparkle (and value!) to the pin. They are rose-cut, an old shape with irregular facets meant to preserve the original size and shape of the stone. Today, most diamonds in jewelry are brilliant-cut, a style that was developed in the 18th century to create more facets on the stone and reflect more light.
Q: My mother bought several pieces of “Currier & Ives” dinnerware when they were offered as premiums at the grocery store in the 1950s or ’60s. Is it collectible?
A: Several companies made “Currier & Ives” dinnerware patterns, but the best-known are the dishes made by the Royal China Company of Sebring, Ohio, from 1949 to about 1986. The pattern includes 27 different 19th-century scenes of American life based on lithograph prints made by Currier & Ives, a company in business in New York from 1857 to 1907. The pattern was made in blue, brown, green, gray, pink and blue with a multicolored center design. The most common color is blue. Not all pieces are marked. Some include the name of the Currier & Ives print pictured. The dinnerware was sold in grocery stores, mail-order catalogs and department stores, and could also be bought with S&H Green stamps. There is a club for collectors of Royal China “Currier & Ives” (website www.currierandivesdinnerware.com). Dinner plates sell online for about $5, serving pieces for about $10.
Q: A very heavy wooden chest was dropped off at our local transfer location and given to us because neighbors know we like odd pieces of furniture. We had to use a forklift to move it. We think it is a bridal chest from the early 20th century. It is 43 inches high, 78 1/2 inches long and 27 1/2 inches deep. The lid has remnants of painted pasteboard panels heavily decorated with gilding, gesso rabbits and Maltese crosses. The interior is cedar. Does it have any value?
A: Large wooden bridal chests in good condition can sell for a few hundred dollars. Size, provenance and condition, or a well-known maker, help determine price. Chests that are too heavy to move easily or are in poor condition don’t sell well. The peeling pasteboard panels on your chest would be difficult to restore. A heavy European decorated bridal chest from the second half of the 19th century was up for auction last year. It was in poor condition and listed as “difficult to move.” It didn’t sell, even though the starting bid was listed as $150. You might find someone who enjoys taking on a project, but the weight will keep most people from tackling it.
Q: I have a set of lamps by L.&F. Moreau. The seal on the lamps is hard to read but looks like “Collection Francaise, Made in U.S.A.” The lamps are in good condition. What are they worth?
A: Brothers Louis Auguste Moreau (1855-1919) and Hippolyte Francois Moreau (1857-1930) worked under their own names, and together as L.&F. Moreau. Pieces marked “L.&F. Moreau” are made of spelter, which is less expensive than bronze. The JB Hirsch Company was founded in New York City in 1907 and imported bronzes from French foundries. After World War I, it bought molds from several European foundries and made the sculptures in the United States. Some European foundries broke up their molds during World War II and hid them so they wouldn’t fall into enemy hands. JB Hirsch bought some of the broken molds from French factories after the war and reassembled the pieces. Sculptures made from the molds are known as exemplaires (French for “copies”) rather than reproductions since they were made from the original molds. JB Hirsch made “Collection Francaise” pieces from the 1950s through the 1980s. Many pairs of lamps were made. Some have sold for $100 to $200, though online sites often ask much higher prices.
TIP: Wear your old jewelry, especially the pieces that look old. You will be surprised how many will ask about it.
On the block
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.
Coca-Cola, sign, “For Extra Fun … Take More Than One,” woman with two packs of Coke, cardboard, easel back, 1963, 30 by 15 inches, $85.
Toy, lion, Leo, mohair, lying down, glass eyes, stitched nose, whiskers, airbrushed features, hang tag, button in ear, Steiff, 10 inches, $120.
Coverlet, woven, blue and white, diamond lattice, flower side borders, church and flower upper and lower borders, eagle and “Liberty” in corners, 19th century, 81 by 70 inches, $190.
Steuben, tazza, flared, four open scrolls around short pedestal base, round foot, George Thompson, circa 1940, 4 ½ by 10 inches, $255.
Advertising, sign, “We Give Triple-S Blue Stamps,” blue speech bubble, owl on branch, yellow ground, 47 by 34 ½ inches, $345.
Delft, charger, round, multicolor, bird and flowers, stylized flowers alternate with lattice around rim, 18th century, 13 ½ inches, $375.
Handel, lamp, two-light, dome shade, textured black ground, white band with red flowers, reverse painted, patinated bronze base, reeded column, leafy foot, electrified, 23 inches, $675.
Clock, shelf, bronze, iron, chalice-shape finial, side scrolls, barrel-shape case, hinged door, Roman numerals, trapezoid-shape base, front medallion, scrolled crest, two front bronze feet, two side iron claw feet, Tiffany & Co., 13 ½ by 12 ¾ inches, $740.
Furniture, cabinet, music, Rococo Revival, white marble top, mirror front door, divided shelf interior, pierced fretwork and side panels, caster feet, mid-19th century, 40 ½ by 31 inches, $800.
Furniture, seat, buggy, painted, green ground, scene on back, young couple, dog, horse and carriage, hilly landscape with house and trees in background, Martha Farham Cahoon, 33 ½ by 41 by 21 inches, $2,000.
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