posted on May 30, 2003 05:43:08 PM new
This is a very pretty handpainted plate with a mark I just don't know anything about. Got it for $1 at a yard sale. Anyone?
posted on May 30, 2003 06:07:50 PM new
Handpainted blank, 99% certain was done by an amateur. There's a lot of this stuff out there. It was a very popular hobby at one time (and has since undergone at least one revival).
Your best bet is that it matches someone's decor.
--
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posted on May 30, 2003 10:31:50 PM new
Roadsmith, you need to learn to tell the difference between professional artist painting and that which was done by grandma during the Women's Art Movement in art class. If you can't tell the difference between professional and amateur painting, then one sure indication is "how" the artist signed the piece. When the person's name is on the back, it is a high probability that it is an amateur painting. Professional painters sign on the front, or don't sign at all, or there will be a studio decorating mark, normally a red overglaze mark on the underside.
Your plate will not sell for much on eBay, or at all, not worth your time to list in my opinion. I give stuff like that to the church thrift shop and take a tax deduction.
posted on May 31, 2003 12:06:27 AM new
Thanks, pals. Lucy: The painter's name is over the glaze.
Hotcup--I did know this was done by an amateur. I have about 20 of them here that my husband's grandmother painted at the turn of the century. I was just mainly curious about the "Louise" Bavaria mark. I've never seen that before anywhere. I don't expect to get much at all for the plate, will probably start it at $4.95, but the colors were so pretty I couldn't resist paying a dollar for it.
I think the plate is very pretty. Who cares if an unknown grandmother painted it. IMO that adds to the charm and appeal of the piece. Maybe play off that for your auction description (e.g., Did your grandmother paint this piece?) I just love things that are associated with grandmothers. Comes from having a terrific one myself.
You find such interesting and lovely things. What state do you live in? I'm in Cleveland, Ohio and I can tell you I have a hard time finding things cheaply around here. Seems just about everyone is Roadshow educated (well, they think they are anyway).
Rain today so the flea market is a wash out. What am I going to do all day?
Cheryl
My religion is simple, my religion is kindness.
--Dalai Llama
posted on May 31, 2003 08:09:57 AM new
Cheryl: Thanks for those words! I can just imagine young women (they're young when I think of china painters, although. . . ) working on these pretty plates. I have a hunch that sometime in the future handpainted china will again be very hot.
I even found two large magazine-type journals once with patterns for painting on china. They are *somewhere* in my ebay office/warehouse/shipping center/messy space probably under a stack of things *yet* to sell.
I live in a little mountain resort town in southern calif. Lots of people who live here now came up to visit grandparents years ago and are now retired and have chosen to live here. When people retire, of course, their stuff gets parceled out. Last weekend, Memorial Day weekend, was one of the two official Big Yard Sale weekends here (the other is Memorial Day). Dealers even come up from far and wide for the sales. It drives me crazy because I'm in a fever to get to the stuff first. I finally decided, rightly, that no one can get to every yard sale before anyone else, so I should be glad for the ones I get to visit before the crowds arrive.
I'm also coming to see that There Will Always Be More Stuff. It's just hard to see the good stuff get away! ~Adele
posted on May 31, 2003 12:35:15 PM new
Hi Roadsmith, you will do so much better for yourself in the long run if you use this time in your life to gain knowledge. You appear to have the instincts to become an antique dealer. But you are wasting your time going to yard sales and listing items on eBay for $4.95. It isn't an effective use of your time. Yes, I understand you are having fun, but you really need to go to the next step as I suggested to you a few months ago, and go to the antique shows, glass shows and high-end estate auctions. Make enough money so that you have profits to purchase reference books. When you start chatting with dealers at the antique shows, you will gain more knowledge. Use the time when you watch television to flip through your reference books, and at the shows match up what you learned in the books to what you see on display. Pick up and look at things. Look at marks. Learn to feel the difference between porcelain of different makers, countries and times. Learn to recognize old glass from new reproductions. When you gain knowledge, you can spend $500 on one thing knowing you can sell it for $2000. A $1500 profit is a more effective use of your time than selling a handpainted plate for $4.95.
And eBay does not have to be your sole outlet for sales. You don't even have to have a shop. You know how I make another $3000 to $6000 a month in sales profits? I sell by appointment only out of my home. I have a beautiful home and I display my antiques with expertise. Over the years, satisfied eBay customers have phoned to ask to see what is in my home. I live rurally like you do. But they drive out, spend an hour or so wandering through my home and I end up selling quite a few things with each visit. I even have display cabinets in my master bedroom. My best sale was for a customer who had flown into my state, called and asked to visit, and I sold him a Dammouse tete-a-tete set for $4000, giving me a profit of $3700. The man was so afraid I might list the Dammouse set on eBay, thereby giving his hated competitors a chance to win it, that he met my price just so he could purchase it and be the only owner. Anyway, from having eBay customers visit and it spreading from word-of-mouth, I now have customers who call and visit regularly. They like my home because they know I have nothing but high-end antiques, and no modern collectible junk at all.
posted on May 31, 2003 12:49:21 PM new
Wow, hotcup: You are really in the big time! I am very impressed. I've been going to antique sales for years, antique shops for years, have friends who are dealers, etc. etc. I still have so much to learn, I know. I don't ever intend to go big time the way you have, though. We took early retirement and are into our own pursuits here; I'm active with our chamber of commerce and sing, also. My husband is writing a book and doing historical research, etc. We could never turn our home into a display area.
So I'm a hobby seller, and, believe it or not, I am getting smarter about what NOT to buy at a yard sale. My goal is to work smarter, not harder. Sometimes I think I should just specialize in a few areas of collectibles, like glassware or porcelain, but it's so much fun to sell odd stuff, like old paper dolls! And that always involves research. At this point, I'm happy to make 500% to 1000% profit, even on the low-end stuff, as part of my Selling 101 continuing education.
Thanks for all the good advice. I value what you have to say.
posted on May 31, 2003 12:56:24 PM new
Well I think it's a pretty plate too Adele! All that much more appealing because it was painted by somebody's grandma!! If you are having fun, learning something in the process and not going broke...GO FOR IT!
If you aspire to be an antique dealer then perhaps yard sales aren't the way to go afterall as Hot Cup suggests...
BUT GOD FORBID any of my buyers should set foot in my house! SHUDDER!! Now that #1 child is home from college the clutter is compounded..i have some nice antiques here..somewhere...you mean the blanket chest wasn't designed to hold postcards and bubble wrap??
I for one like to see your yard sale purchases, Adele ( i am a reformed garage saler)and like to read the comments you receive from the "experts" - we all learn a little in the process!
eBay is the world's largest yard sale! everything from treasures to trash! That's what makes it so fun! You can't say that about the fancy auction houses (zzzzzzzzzzzzz)!
