Cross Artifacts, Jeffersonville, Ohio

Yesterday we went to Jeffersonville, Ohio, to an auction held by Cross Artifacts. It was just a little outside of the town, at a large metal building surrounded by farms. It was very easy to find, and there was plenty of parking for the crowd that arrived. The spacious interior had lots of seating, and it was fairly easy to get through the tables to inspect the goods. There was a second ring for coins and furniture, but they were able to control the speaker systems to make it easy for everyone. We were surprised to find that the crowd of around 70 people were happy to pay retail prices for many of the items for sale, but of course as resellers we were looking for the undervalued items. We came away with a few nice Cowan pieces, a little McCoy and Van Briggle, and even a Moorcroft piece. There were several dozen pieces of vintage Roseville pottery, but for a variety of reasons we did not end up with any of it. 

Large selection of Roseville pottery at Cross auction 

More Roseville pottery at Cross Auction

Most of the pieces were common, and many showed damage or amateur repairs. There were a few pieces of Futura, particularly a Bamboo Ball, but it showed minor corner damage on 2 edges. No one seemed to notice or care because it went for nearly $300. There was also a vista wall pocket ($300) with a cracked handle and a vista window box ($350) with 2 chipped corners. Unfortunately, even the common pieces sold in the $50 to $100 range which was simply not appropriate for the conditions or rarity. We barely got bids in before they increased in price beyond what we were willing to give. All of the quality pieces such as a nice Wisteria blue vase ($290) went to a single buyer who apparently had no problem stepping in and picking the cream of the crop.

Overall it was a good day, and although we did not leave with a large number of pieces it was still well worth attending.

Humler & Nolan, Cincinnati, Ohio

We were fortunate enough last week to attend the Humler & Nolan auction in Cincinnati, Ohio featuring the Monsen-Baer collection. For those not familiar with this collection, it was massive and used to produce two books on the subject of middle-period vintage Roseville pottery. There were over 800 lots, with many of the lots containing 5-8 pieces. Nearly the entire catalog of Futura was represented, including several in Carnillian II glazes. Several dozen experimental and trial glaze pots were brought to market, and most will not be seen again for decades as they passed into private collections.

As always, the staff was professional and congenial, the facilities perfect, and the provided refreshments (catered by Quiznos!) kept the large crowd of 50+ bidders sated throughout the grueling 12 hour auction. Although there were a few glitches with the internet bidding, many lots were won across the world by people sitting at computers. The phone bidders were not intimidated, and pressed the prices of the higher-end pieces to stratospheric levels.

One of the stars of the show was  a Futura "Tank" vase with a small chip at the base. After frantic bidding, the price closed at $13,500, and with a 15% buyers premium the cost was over $15,000. Not bad for a pot that originally sold for $9.50/dozen.

Roseville Future Tank vase fetches over $15,000

In a close second, what may be the only known example of the "Chinese Bronze" vase was purchased with a bid of $10,000 plus 15% buyers premium for a total of  $11,500. Two big surprises were a Futura "Milk Carton" hitting $2500 and a Futura "Window Box" hitting $2100. Many pieces went far above estimates, with astounded onlookers gasping as the bids spiraled upward. Especially surprising was the bidding on Moderne line pieces which tripled and quadrupled estimates. Is this the beginning of a trend?

For our part, we came away with 27 pieces, 7 of which were trial glaze, experimental, or prototype. One nice example was a prototype 585-8 Apple Blossom vase. It has many more flowers and leaves that a production piece, with brighter and richer glaze. The details are very sharp.

Roseville 585-8 Apple Blossom prototype

Overall it was a great day, and we will end this blog with some pictures of some of the grouped lots, some of which would have been considered best of show in any other auction.

Wickliff Auctions, Carmel, Indiana

On the last day of February, 2015, Wickliff Auctions produced a good sized estate auction in Carmel, Indiana. The auction was primarily jewelry and wall art, but there was a smattering of early American art pottery from several major manufacturers. The facilities were excellent as always, the staff was very professional and friendly, and the participants were of the highest caliber. Refreshments were provided throughout the auction, and a security officer was ever-present to ensure the safety of all involved. Catalogs were provided to all participants, with excellent descriptions and each lot sequentially numbered. Two large monitors provided images of the items as the came up for bid so that everyone could clearly see the items.

Sadly, there was only a single Roseville Pottery lot available that day.

The green Pinecone cup (#960-4) had a pretty serious base chip, and oddly enough the bottom was unglazed. The mold was very weak as well, so we had no interest in it. The mock orange console bowl (#929-10) had some deep calcium deposits on the interior from use, but it was cleanable with a little elbow grease so we gave it some consideration. Unfortunately, the bidding jumped quickly to $40, and with a 12% buyers premium and 7% sales tax if was futile to bid any higher since the current bidder was already spending almost $50.00. We figured retail on the mock orange at about $40.00 -$50.00 and maybe $10.00 - $15.00 for the chipped cup so we let this lot pass.

We did manage to pick up some Lalique  and Steuben pieces at good prices so the day was not bad in the end. Always a pleasure to come to Wickliff and spend the afternoon, even if the Roseville Pottery for sale did not come home with us.