Collector’s Notebook: Old-World Style Meets Contemporary Furniture
From contemporary furniture and antique dental cabinets to porcelain dolls and Weller pottery, this week’s Collector’s Notebook takes a closer look at what collectors are asking about.
Furniture can take unexpected forms, especially in contemporary design. From the late twentieth century onward, advances in technology created a wealth of new materials and construction techniques for designers to use, while social and cultural changes encouraged experimental approaches with new shapes and styles.
Philippe Starck, born in Paris in 1949, is responsible for some of the most famous and creative furniture and industrial designs of the 1980s and 1990s, and he is still working today. One of his most famous designs, the “Louis Ghost” chair of 2002, is a fairly conventional-looking chair whose uniqueness comes from its material and construction. Made of clear plastic, it is injection-molded in one piece.
Other designs are more unusual at first sight, such as his “Attila” side table designed for the Italian company Kartell. It takes the shape of a smiling, seated gnome with his arms raised over his head, holding up a faux tree trunk slice that makes the tabletop.
Made of fiberglass and rubber, the table was originally made in the 1980s, but Kartell still carries it, albeit in different colors. A vintage example, where the gnome wears a bright green shirt and truncated red hat, sold for $283 at Main Auction Galleries, a lower price than a new model would cost.
Starck designed a similar gnome table he named “Napoleon,” also made by Kartell. Perhaps he was making a statement about leaders famed for their ruthlessness, or maybe he just liked the idea of giving historical names to his whimsical tables.
Contemporary Italian furniture may be associated with postmodern, avant-garde trends like Radical Design, Studio Alchimia, and Memphis, but older styles are always coming back. The Rococo style was revived, like many other past design styles, in the 19th century and came back into fashion once more in the early 20th century.
Today’s design may tend toward minimalism, and the simple, functional mid-century modern look is popular. But the pendulum always swings back. Decorations like elaborate carving, gilded trim, and lush fabrics may come back again before we know it!
Collector Q & A:
Q: I was given this medicine cabinet by a dentist many years ago. Any idea on what it would be worth?
A: Medical and dental equipment, including cabinets, is popular with collectors. Values depend on size, condition, material, and unusual features like rotating cases or other movable parts. Your cabinet is by Clark & Roberts, a company that made dental cabinets, exam tables, and other medical furniture in the early 20th century.
A cabinet by Clark & Roberts sold at auction a few years ago for about $500. More recently, similar cabinets by other or unknown manufacturers have sold for about $200 to $700. Having the label with the maker’s name increases the value. Asking prices online can go from about $400 to over $1,000.
An auction house or dealer who specializes in medical or dental collectibles may be able to give you a more precise estimate.
Q: A family member told me to give you an email to see if you could help me out with a few dolls I have. They were given to me by older family members when I was very little, and I have carried them with me my whole life. I have not been lucky in finding out much about them or their worth. If there is any information you can kindly pass on, it will be greatly appreciated.
A: It is difficult to determine the value of a porcelain doll without knowing its maker, approximate age, or other identifying details. Many companies in the 1980s and 1990s made collectible porcelain dolls that resembled or were inspired by antique dolls. They are generally not period-accurate and not worth as much as authentic antiques.
It’s good that you have the packaging and certificate for the “Soft Expressions” doll. They always increase the value. “Soft Expressions” dolls have sold online for anywhere from about $10 to $70. The highest prices tend to go to dolls with the original accessories, packaging, and papers.
Unfortunately, items made as “collector’s editions” rarely turn out to be the investment that people expect them to be. Many people buy them and keep them in mint condition, so the market quickly gets saturated. If the maker is not known, modern and contemporary porcelain dolls, and even some antique ones, tend to sell for low prices, about $10 to $30.
A doll hospital, dealer, or collector’s club in your area may be able to help you find more information about the other dolls. You can find collectors’ clubs and resources in your area on the United Federation of Doll Clubs website, www.ufdc.org. Other online resources like Doll Reference, www.dollreference.com, may also help.
Q: My great-grandmother bought a Weller Flemish Grapevine jardiniere at an estate sale in the 1920s. There are no flaws or chips, and it is signed. I’ve had it all these years, and I’m getting old. No one in the family seems to want it, and I don’t know what to do with it. My present house is small. Any ideas? I also have a slightly smaller Roma that I can actually use here. But the big Flemish Grapevine is just too huge, stored in the basement.
A: Samuel A. Weller started his pottery in 1872 in Ohio. Early pieces were utilitarian, and the company started making art pottery in 1893. They developed hundreds of lines, becoming the world’s largest art pottery by 1915. The company closed in 1948.
Today, large antique Weller pieces like jardinieres sell for hundreds of dollars. A Weller Flemish jardiniere and pedestal in a different pattern is listed at $427 in Kovels’ 2023 Price Guide. A Flemish Grapevine jardiniere and pedestal with some flaws sold for $500 at a recent auction. If yours is in flawless condition, it is likely worth more.
If you intend to sell your jardiniere, be sure you get your money’s worth! We recommend contacting an antique or consignment store or auction house in your area. Be sure to check for seller’s commissions, buyer’s premiums, and other fees.
COLLECTOR'S TIP: Don’t retouch gold leaf picture frames or other gold trim with anything but real gold leaf.
More Collector Questions Answered:
