RZM Fine Arts and Antiques Inc Presents: Ask the Appraiser

Greetings. We recently had the job of cleaning out my aunt’s apartment in Manhattan. She had lived in that same apartment almost 60 years, so there was a lot to go through. The item pictured was located in her china cabinet with an old handwritten note indicating it had belonged to her grandmother. I actually find it quite interesting. So, since I read “Ask the Appraiser” each week, I decided to request your help with any information you could share with me. Perhaps how old it might be and where it came from. Does it have any value? If you require more pictures, please let me know. It stands 1 foot in height. Thank you for your kindness.

Debra

Thanks to your excellent photographs it made it possible for me to immediately identify your vase. The vase you have inherited was produced by the Colorado based art pottery company Van Briggle. When Van Briggle closed operations in 2012, it had the distinction of being the oldest continuously operating art pottery in the United States. In 1899 a famous listed American artist Artus Van Briggle established this company in Colorado Springs. Artus Van Briggle formerly was the leading decorator for the prestigious Rookwood Pottery and even designed a lamp base for Tiffany Studios. The vase you now possess is known as the “Indian Head Vase” produced by Ambrose Schlegel, a studio artist at Van Briggle, from 1927 through 1939 and was originally produced as a lamp base, not a vase. Many owners of this particular vase do not realize that each of the three facial expressions are quite different. Sometimes a heavy glaze on the surface will obscure the fine points of the facial features. I’m happy to see this is definitely not the case with your vase. Each of the three relief Native American faces appears crisp and clear. The vase features a spreading foot design and has a Persian Rose color with a blue glaze. The base is properly incised with the double AA mark and (Colo Spgs). From your excellent photographs it appears your vase has remained in excellent condition. No chips or cracks. That being said, the current value of this Van Briggle pottery Indian Head vase is 500 USD. Sadly, the American art pottery market has dropped substantially in the last fifteen years. There was a time in the late 1990’s – early 2000’s that this vase had a value of $1,500 USD. I know this fact all too well, as I’ve actually sold this exact vase for that price back in that time period. Still, it is a wonderful example of 20th century American art pottery. My best wishes to you.