Art deco drinkware set a toast to technology of the time
Q. This set was my grandmother's. She passed it down to my mother. I inherited it when my mother died in 1996 at the age of 92. I am 83, but I can remember seeing the set at my grandmother's house as a child. She used it on special occasions. It is in perfect condition, but there are no markings as far as I can tell.
I plan to pass the set to my daughter, so I would love to know something about it. Can you tell me anything?
A. You have an art deco-style decanter with matching glasses and silver tray. The art deco movement began in France in the 1920s and quickly swept through Europe and the United States. The style, characterized by sleek, bold, streamlined geometric shapes, was a backlash to the more fussy Victorian designs and neoclassical revival. Art deco embraced both architecture and decorative arts. It reflected the modern technology of the times. The style faded by the 1940s. Many sets similar to yours were made in Czechoslovakia. They probably originally included a paper label with the manufacturer's name and origin. Also, the glasses were used as shot glasses.
Your set was made in the late 1930s or early 1940s. It would probably be worth anywhere between $75 and $125.
Q. This is a mark on the bottom of a pottery bowl I found in a home that I bought. The bowl is about 7 inches wide by 3.5 inches deep. It is decorated with a dark red apple with two green leaves against an ivory-colored background.
What can you tell me about the age, maker and value of the bowl?
A. You have a mixing bowl made by Watt Pottery Co. It was founded in Crooksville, Ohio, in 1922. Your bowl is part of the "Apple" series, which was introduced in 1952 and produced until 1962. There were variations of the apple pattern: apples with one leaf, two leaves or three leaves, two apples, an open apple, etc.
Your bowl has the double-leaf pattern. Watt made a plethora of dishes, including stacked mixing bowls, salt and pepper shakers, bowls, pitchers, casseroles, bakers, bean pots, canisters and cookie jars. The "7" on the mark designated the diameter of the bowl. Your bowl may have originally been part of the stacked/nesting mixing bowl set.
Your bowl is circa 1950s and would probably be worth $45 to $55.
• Address your questions to Anne McCollam, P.O. Box 247, Notre Dame, IN 46556. Items of a general interest will be answered in this column. Due to the volume of inquiries, she cannot answer individual letters.
© 2016, Creators Syndicate