New to the Board

[Jackson]

Hello all!

I am new to the board and new to the world of antiques.  I have recently inherited an entire house full of my grandmothers stuff and am trying to place a value on a lot of the items.  I have a lot of porcelain figures I am researching and was hoping someone may have a good place to begin my research.  Most is by Boehm, but some is Capodimonte and various other makers.  The two below are both Capodimonte pieces and about 20"

Any suggestions of where to start?

Thanks in advance.

[syl]

Hi Jackson, We're going through the same thing. I guess it depends on what you want to do. If you just want to know values you could hire an appraiser to go through your stuff. If your looking to sell you can hire an estate sale company but remember that they are liquidators and will price the stuff so that dealers can buy it and then have room to mark it up. You probably have some things that are really valuable and others that aren't so much. You need to figure out which is which so you don't get ripped off. Get some books. Take some pictures of the good stuff and post them. It would be fun to see what you have. Good luck. Syl

[Jackson]

Thank you!  I will take more pictures and see if anything looks familiar to anyone.

[Chris_Marshall]

Hi,

please remember that when posting pictures the folks here need good shots of the complete bottoms (especially of the marks) to identify minute differences otherwise out of focus.

You mention 'Capodimonte' ... without wanting to hurt feelings, I bet most of it (if any) isn't. First off, Capodimonte is an area (like Limoges in France) and not a single manufacturer, but that's irrelevant. If there were really original Italian pieces, sitting them near Boehm would be like collecting 1790's Meissen next to plastic cups as the look, feel and original prices just don't match. [Note: estate sale tip - when seeing lots of old figures next to Arnart, HomCo or Sadek gunk, you know the sales agent has 'patched' items he could not sell elsewhere into the lot].

What syl said may be partially correct but causes a big itch to people that know their stuff a bit. From own personal experience I know that even high class appraisers in many many cases are useless right up to blatantly incompetent especially when it comes to items that use markings so similar to others that only a collector or expert can hold them apart. For example I know alone five German and two English companies plus one in Sri Lanka that used the crowned 'N' mark often claimed to be Capodimonte by 'appraisers'. Go figure. With other words: before I even *think* about even asking a friend of mine who wrote a few books on Italian porcelain and pottery I always check out tons of possibilities simply to avoid being dope-slapped.

Plus: In your case(s) going through an own learning process gives you the upper hand when negotiating with appraisers or sales agents as they can't cheat or talk bullpoop

[railman44]

Hello Jackson and welcome to the board.  Porcelain figurines aren't my speciality so I'll leave their appraisal up to the experts.  Please try to post your pictures in their upright position and as mentioned, always post a picture of any markings. 

[D&b antiques]

Chris is right. A fleur-De- lis was capo de monte's trade mark from 1736 to 1821.it's likely the mc kinley act comes in play if they are marked capo- de- Monte.  some time after 1891

[Jackson]

Thanks to all for the information. I really had no idea where to start, so you have been very helpful.

I am not sure why the pictures posted sideways; they display upright on my end, so I was not sure how to fix that issue. 

I will examine the marks and post anything helpful.

**EDIT** I have found the crowned N marks on both pieces (so probably not authentic) and both are signed by the same artist.  I attempted to post pictures, but keep getting a message saying the upload folder is full...

Thank you again.

[syl]

Hi,

please remember that when posting pictures the folks here need good shots of the complete bottoms (especially of the marks) to identify minute differences otherwise out of focus.

You mention 'Capodimonte' ... without wanting to hurt feelings, I bet most of it (if any) isn't. First off, Capodimonte is an area (like Limoges in France) and not a single manufacturer, but that's irrelevant. If there were really original Italian pieces, sitting them near Boehm would be like collecting 1790's Meissen next to plastic cups as the look, feel and original prices just don't match. [Note: estate sale tip - when seeing lots of old figures next to Arnart, HomCo or Sadek gunk, you know the sales agent has 'patched' items he could not sell elsewhere into the lot].

What syl said may be partially correct but causes a big itch to people that know their stuff a bit. From own personal experience I know that even high class appraisers in many many cases are useless right up to blatantly incompetent especially when it comes to items that use markings so similar to others that only a collector or expert can hold them apart. For example I know alone five German and two English companies plus one in Sri Lanka that used the crowned 'N' mark often claimed to be Capodimonte by 'appraisers'. Go figure. With other words: before I even *think* about even asking a friend of mine who wrote a few books on Italian porcelain and pottery I always check out tons of possibilities simply to avoid being dope-slapped.

Plus: In your case(s) going through an own learning process gives you the upper hand when negotiating with appraisers or sales agents as they can't cheat or talk bullpoop

why do i find this as a negative and unhelpful response?i thought this forum was to help us that dont have the expertise and guide us in the right direction....i agree the learning process is important but it is very time consuming and frustrating..so we come here for some help.from the experts...we have received great info with some humor and appreciate it very much ...so tell me what is the differnce from the appraisers, experts, sale agents and collectors??who do YOU go to for the real facts???

[regularjoe2]

I'm just going to interject another opinion here , Syl .
I've found , during over 4 decades of collecting , researching , selling and buying art & antiques , that facts are easier to obtain than truths ( in regards to actual objects ).
Historical records can be in error , or transcribed in error : old documents/information can be authentic , as to age , but can be fakes produced during the era .
Often I've found a great variety between the opinions of professional dealers/appraisers/experts and those of a collector , an amatuer or a  connesseur .
I don't know how many times I've been wrong about my own assumptions about a piece .
The same applies to the above list .
My experience is that research , research & more research (including the opinions of others) has been the most fruitful way to get to the bottom of 'the truth' about an item (sometimes the 'truth' can't be exactly found , though ...) .
That's my $0.02 worth .

[D&b antiques]

Regularjoe your info is excellent. your first post indicated to me a man with years under his belt and no body's fool. but for ever reaching out to increase your expertise.

We here would consider it and Honor. if you stopped by from time to time and keep us ''Straight''

[regularjoe2]

Wow , D&b Antiques ... thats a nice and very kind sentiment .
Thank you .

As far as the 'nobody's fool' part , I'll have to do some research & hunting around on that ; there may be indications to the contrary .

It's my honor to be here .