Factors that influence the value of pottery

By Tina Howard and Paul Howard

Condition

The prime factor in valuing a piece of pottery is condition. Without excellent condition, values begin to fall, even for rare, desirable items. Items with damage may still be desirable - much depends on the purchaser and why they want the item. The following paragraphs discuss terms used to describe the condition of a piece of pottery. Please note that there are far more terms for describing damage and flaws than there are for perfection. Any and all flaws and damage must be described to the buyer prior to purchase, if the buyer is not able to examine the item personally.

Demand

The next major area in determining the value of pottery items is demand. There are many rare, old, perfect items which the public does not want to own. And there are more common items which are so highly sought that even damaged ones are sellable. Public demand is generally centred around these areas:

Manufacturer - what company produced the item. For example, wares produced in Japan in the 1930s by Noritake are more desirable than similar wares produced by other Japanese companies of the era. Another example is "Desert Rose" dinnerware: the wares produced by the original manufacturer, Gladding McBean (their Franciscan line), are much more desirable than items produced by other manufacturers which bought out the company.

Designer/Artist - who designed the original item, which may have been mass produced; or the artist who decorated the individual piece by hand. Examples here include Russel Wright dinnerware, or the artist-signed items produced by Rookwood.

Type of ware - The public is often attracted to wares produced in a geographic area, or made with techniques similar to a particular area. These include such things as Staffordshire, Quimper, Majolica, or Imari.

Rarity

Rarity affects value only on things which are otherwise desirable. Within those categories, an item which is unusual will bring a premium price from a buyer who wants to complete a collection. Although to a purist or expert, it refers only to those things of which a small quantity are known to exist, the meaning of the term "rare" is dependent on the seller's experience with the type of ware, but it is generally used to refer to the least common type of item. For example, in Bauer Ringware, black and white are uncommon colours, but their rarity may vary depending on the region of the country.

Age

Age is not necessarily an indicator of value. Earlier works of a desirable ware may have more value than later ones, but even in such items as 18th century Staffordshire figures, rarity is as important as age when determining value. Many very old types of pottery are widely available and inexpensive. Examples include 19th century brown transferware, and 1,000 year old pottery lamps from the Middle East.

Decorative Value

The term "decorative value" means the item is not in great demand, and has no exceptional characteristics except that it is attractive. It may be a badly damaged piece of an otherwise desirable ware, a copy of a highly collected item, or an original that is simply not actively sought.

The preceding material was written by Tina Howard and Paul Howard. These are the opinions of the authors, not the opinions of eBay, and therefore eBay does not validate the accuracy of or endorse these opinions.