Lynn’s eBay Ezine Volume III, Issue Number 41

110183229168 Click to see what it is up to.

Mo tells me that the unusual pieces and the serving pieces will pay for the whole set. She also tells me that even the regular pieces like bread plates and bowls will sell if they are in good condition. However, watch for those pesky utensil marks that are quite common on Pflatzgraff and are very hard to buff out.

Those first purchases got me going and I ended up filling up the minivan. It is all your fault Mo! At the very last sale of the day, I bought 10 pieces of African art for $90 and as I was leaving I spotted a Roseville vase on the shelf. I asked “how much” and she said “$8”. I’ll take it. I also spotted a green Roseville vase and she wanted $10 for that–so I bought it also.

You can see the blue vase poking out of the minivan here and one of the big pieces of African Art. Leon, if you are reading this–can you tell me anything about this? Is it old or new? Any good? Leon is one of the live Boot Camp students from Anacortes and an expert in African art.

Well, as we got into the car, my mom says, “Score!” and I say, “I don’t know. I have a funny feeling about this Roseville. It just doesn’t feel right. I think that they are reproductions.”

As I examined the vases closer, I could see that the pattern was not done with glaze but had been painted on and that some of the paint had chipped off. It was also a very sloppy job–paint was all over the embossed areas and did not follow the pattern at all. I was right. Darn it!

I had been reading about these Roseville knock-offs out of China for years but had never seen one in person. It was amazing to me that from just picking up the vase and carrying it to the van, I could tell that it wasn’t authentic. It was light and hollower than it should have been.

When I got home, I immediately started doing some research. Here is a great site for more info on these reproductions: The Roseville Pottery Exchange.

The Roseville Pottery Exchange was kind enough to share this information with us….

WHAT TO LOOK FOR:

“The glaze on most fakes is very dull and lacks depth. The glaze is flat and does not usually reveal the clay color underneath. Handles on the repros tend to be thicker and details are not as refined. Most shapes vary significantly from the originals. Leaves on real pieces are brighter and stand out from the background better. Most of the background colors vary significantly from the original colors and the color of the clay is usually whiter than the originals.

“All pieces I have seen have “Roseville U.S.A.” (usually very low relief on the USA) or “Roseville” on the bottom, even if they were not marked on original pieces. Initially, the Roseville fakes had a raised (“in relief”) “Roseville USA” on the bottom. Apparently, U.S. Customs had a problem with that, so the ones being produced now just say “Roseville”, with a space below that word where “USA” would have been. Huxford’s book lists the various trademarks that Roseville used. According to that reference, “Roseville” (without “USA”) was used only from 1932-1937 and only as an impressed mark, never in relief. If a piece has “Roseville” in relief without “USA”, I’d say that’s close to a dead giveaway that it’s a fake, particularly if there’s an empty space where “USA” should be. On the other hand, the use of “Roseville USA” does not guarantee that it’s authentic.

“Brown, dark blue, light blue, and lime green are most common for fakes, but I’ve recently seen some pink (iris) and grey (white rose) ones.

“Remember, almost every dealer in the country knows what Roseville is, if the price seems too good to be true then it probably is. Know your stuff, don’t take anyone’s word for it, if YOU are not certain.”

Here are photos from the Roseville Pottery Exchange site of the Green Zephyr Lily Vase that I had purchased along with a photo of a real vase. The differences are quite clear and shocking!