Valuing a Roseville jardiniere-pedestal set
Q. Enclosed are photographs of my Roseville jardiniere and pedestal. I was with my mother when she purchased this set many years ago. When she passed away, I inherited it and have taken good care of it. It is in good condition with no chips, scratches or cracks. What is its worth today, and how much would it bring if I sold it?
A. We have not talked about this subject in a very long time, and have decided to revisit Roseville because there have been some big changes in values over the past few years.
Briefly, Roseville was founded in 1892 by George Young, who had previously been unsuccessful at a variety of jobs, including teaching and Singer Sewing Machine salesman. His luck changed when he took over the old J.B. Owens pottery plant in Roseville, Ohio, and began producing utilitarian items such as flowerpots and stoneware storage jugs.
The company prospered and gradually moved operations to plants located in nearby Zanesville, Ohio, but retained the original name. The company started making art wares around 1900. This continued until just after World War I, when it began moving its focus to what is called “commercial art wares” -- meaning, their products were molded and had very little handwork.
A number of very interesting patterns were produced by Roseville in this period — including the one in today’s question, which is called “Pine cone.” It was the brainchild of Frank Ferrell (Roseville’s art director from 1918 to the company’s closing in 1954), and it has long been very popular with collectors.
This features representations of pine cones with long pine needles and handles that looked like twigs. This elegant design was produced in shades of brown, green, blue and — very rarely — pink.
Of these colorations, green is probably the least desired and brings the least amount of money. From the photograph it appears that yours is blue and this is very good. In ascending order of valuation, the progression is green, brown, blue and (you should be so lucky) pink.
“Pine cone” was first produced in 1931, and was manufactured for a number of years. We are answering this question today because the interest in Roseville pottery has declined remarkably in recent years, and the value of “Pine cone” has dropped by at least one-half. This is a sad situation, but we feel that “Pine cone” is a lovely pattern that may recover its value someday.
From the data you provided, this particular example should be between 25 and 25½ inches tall.
If she does indeed have a 10-inch Pine-cone jardiniere on a No. 632 pedestal in perfect condition, it should be valued for insurance purposes around $2,800 to $3,200. Seven to eight years ago, that value would have been closer to $4,000 to $4,500.
In 2011, a similarly sized example sold at auction for $1,600, and that is about the price you might receive for the piece should you sell it.
Ÿ Contact Helaine Fendelman and Joe Rosson at Treasures in Your Attic, P.O. Box 18350, Knoxville, TN 37928.