It’s Just Stuff

Dear Connie,

This Capodimonte pitcher and accessories belonged to my sister. They were given to her more than 50 years ago. All pieces are stamped on the bottom with “Capodimonte N made in Italy.” I also have the card of “Certificato de Garanzia.” Can you tell me anything more and their value?

Dian, McMinnville

Dear Dian,

I find flashy floral Italian ware in the majority of homes I visit. Few of them are perfect, though. The roses on your four pieces were shaped and applied while the clay was still malleable and then fired to stiffen the raised blooms. The porous clay used to form the petals seems to nick and chip if you look at it rudely.

Your sister’s rose-decorated pitcher, nosegay of deep pink roses and the two yellow roses were made in the mid to late 1900s when the letter “N” and Capodimonte were used for mass-produced decorative items. Originally the mark was applied to pieces made by the Capo di Monte family artists in the late 1700s. The mark “Made in Italy” indicates it was produced after 1914.

If there are no chips or nicks, all four pieces might sell at a tag sale for as little as $30. If they were offered to a wider audience and matched something multiple buyers were seeking to complete heirloom settings, the value could quadruple.

Dear Mrs. Davenport,

Would you take a look at this item, please? We found it while working on a house in California and took it to a silver dealer. All he said was what it was worth in melt. He advised he did not know what it was. It weighs two or three pounds.

Inside the pedestal it is marked “Howard and Co. New York Sterling 1887.” It is in perfect shape with no dents. The bowl and base are attached. Can you tell us what it

Can you tell us what it is, if there was more to it, i.e. glass lid, and its value?

Larry, Wartrace

Dear Larry,

Howard and Company of New York made fine sterling hollowware from 1866 to 1922. Your reticulated (pierced) edge compote did not have a top and was probably intended to display tidbits of food to dainty consumers.

Based on the pictures you’ve sent, I’d insure it for $1,500 to $2,000. This isn’t typical modern, mass-produced sterling. The intricately pierced design and four medallions with different and distinctive faces are some of the company’s finer work. The dream of snagging sterling pieces like this at tag sales for a few hundred dollars is what gets people out of bed on sale days.

Dear Connie,

This old music box has been in the family for years. Could you tell me the value? It plays six songs. I believe the hinges have been replaced. It is 17 inches wide, 8 inches tall and 6 inches deep. Thanks!

Submitted online

Dear online reader,

Your cylinder music box was most likely made in Switzerland in the late 1800s. It has a marquetry decorated case and had a colorful card with names of the tunes handwritten on empty lines. In pristine condition with the playlist and a burl wood box on a fitted base, cylinder music boxes with interchangeable cylinders can sell for more than $2,000. Boxes that are less-decorated, more simply decorated, slightly imperfect or altered and those without playlists sell for as little as $150. Damaged cylinders that play incompletely reduce value as well.