He’s not an official symbol of Valentine’s Day, but it seems like the right time to have the King of Hearts make an appearance. This King of Hearts enamel was made in 1946 by Kenneth Bates, who may as well be called the king of enamels.
Bates was born in Massachusetts in 1904 and developed a love of art and crafts as a child. He attended the Massachusetts School of Art from 1922 to 1926, where he studied painting and had his first exposure to enamels.
In 1927, he traveled to Cleveland to teach design at the Cleveland School of Art. He realized that there were already many artists working in his preferred medium, watercolor, and decided he would try something different so his work would stand out. His choice? Enamels. At the time, enamel was limited to expensive jewelry houses; it wasn’t considered a material for modern art.
Bates’ work — from Arts and Crafts-style boxes and bowls to abstracted nature imagery to human figures — changed that. He also encouraged hobbyists to pursue enameling, writing books like “Enameling: Principles and Practice,” published by World Publishing Company in 1951, to make the craft more accessible. Today, collectors value his pieces. His King of Hearts piece sold for $1,188 at an auction by Rago Arts.
Q: I have a ceramic set with six pieces: a bowl, pitcher, covered hairbrush holder and covered soap dish, I assume. The set was given as a gift to me in 1967 or ‘68 in Sasebo, Japan, or Mons, Belgium, I’m not sure which place. The pattern is the same on all the pieces: white with a blue edge and blue flowers. The bowl and pitcher have numbers on the bottom. Can you help me find information about the set’s markings and value, if any?
A: Your set is called a wash set, or sometimes a “toilette set.” They usually consist of a water pitcher and wash bowl, one or more soap dishes, and a covered toothbrush holder. Based on the dates you gave us, it sounds like the set was made for export to the United States. After World War II, the U.S. imported inexpensive decorative ceramics from Europe and Japan, often to sell at gift shops. They did not always have makers’ marks. They were often marked by the importer instead, sometimes with a paper label instead of a permanent mark. The numbers on your bowl and pitcher may indicate their size, model number or production number. Without knowing the maker or identifying the pattern, it is difficult to say where they may have come from. Both Sasebo, Japan, and Mons, Belgium, have long histories of making and exporting ceramics, and both have made blue-and-white pottery. Wash sets from the mid-20th century by unidentified makers sell for about $100.
Q: A large and very heavy wooden “cabinet” — resembling a grand piano three- or four-times normal size, flat and fan-shaped — was situated in the apse of one of the larger cathedrals I visited in England some years ago. All I could learn about the piece was that it provided storage for the capes of high clergy. It’s certainly a good possibility that the piece was not usually in that location and had been brought out for the sake of tourists. I would be so grateful if you could add to this scrap of information.
A: It sounds like you saw a sacristy cabinet. Sacristy cabinets store important items like clergy’s robes, vessels, objects used in services and parish records. There isn’t a single standard design; they can be long and low like a credenza, a tall multi-tiered cabinet or a relatively small cupboard or chest of drawers. They usually have elaborate decorations, like carvings, marquetry, or gilding, that reflect the architectural style of the time and place they were made. For example, an Italian Renaissance (circa 1500) sacristy cabinet may have geometric inlay that looks three-dimensional thanks to use of perspective. A 19th-century Gothic Revival cabinet with peaked arches and deeply carved tracery can look like a miniature cathedral itself. Neoclassical cabinets from the late 18th to early 19th century can have simpler geometric shapes. There are French Provincial cabinets with delicate scrolls and curved panels. Like most church furnishings, they are beautifully crafted and are considered works of art.
TIP: Restoring and reusing old things is the purest form of recycling.
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.
Royal Doulton, dinnerware set, Bunnykins, two plates, three bowls, cup, mug, two-handled cup, child’s, eight pieces, $25.
Compact, silver, rectangular, light blue enamel, gold tone interior, two compartments, attached chain and ring, 3½ by 2¼ inches, $130.
Advertising, sign, Benjamin Moore & Co., paint can shape, red, yellow interior, MoorGard, Latex House Paint, die-cut metal, 35 by 25½ inches, $160.
Mt. Joye, rose bowl, purple iris, enamel, frosted ground, crimped rim, marked, 3½ by 4 inches, $180.
Spelter, watch stand, scrolled crest, figural stand, putto, wings extended, scrolled supports, lobed dish, round base, circa 1870, 6 by 4 inches, $210.
Card, Valentine, Superman, three red hearts, “Be Mine,” “To Me It Would Be Fine To Be Your Super-Valentine,” die-cut card, circa 1950, 4½ by 5¼ inches, $220.
Porcelain-Chinese, vase, tulip, blue and white, center bulb shaped spout, five surrounding bulb holders, bud shaped mouths, six petals each, 10½ by 7½ inches, $405.
Furniture, chair, William and Mary, banister back, heart and crown crest, rush seat, turned legs, two box stretchers, shaped arms, painted, 1700s, 46 by 26 inches, $430.
Box, candy, Crane Candy Company, Maxfield Parrish illustration on lid, Rubaiyat, rectangular, reed, textured, stylized flower vine trim, on inclined stand, circa 1920, 6½ by 13¼ inches, $585.
Jewelry, bracelet, bangle, eight-pointed star, ruby center, seed pearls, rose cut diamonds, hinged, 14K gold, Victorian, 6 inches, $1,890.
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