Stickley Era, the Arts & Crafts Movement

[Klay]

I'm very interested to get your opinions on this:

I've collected Art Pottery for about 15 years. About two years ago, I started professionally restoring pottery as a hobby job. I've started seeing pieces I've done for clients and pieces I've sold to dealers (as repaired) appear on ebay and in major auctions described as "mint."

Not only is there no mention of restoration, but they're being described as "all-original," and in the case of a little handled Marblehead vase that was on ebay, "pristine, estate fresh."

http://cgi.ebay.com/UNIQUE-ESTATE-ANTIQUE-MARBLEHEAD-POTTERY-HANDLED-VASE_W0QQitemZ290249542040QQihZ019QQcategoryZ160901QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


I emailed the seller of the Marblehead to change the description, which they did, but it was still worded somewhat deceptively.

It becomes a little more difficult with the auction house because I want to believe the consignor (my client) is being honest about the condition, but that information is not making it into the condition report. If I blow the whistle on the piece, I hurt my client and jeopardize any future work (not to mention making an enemy of a place I may want to purchase from in the future) .

I realize at the end of the day it's Caveat Emptor, but as a buyer and collector is it naive to expect a little honesty? I mean, saying "some restoration to base" isn't as honest as saying "a three-inch chunk out of the base has been repaired," but at least it gives the buyer a heads up.

Do I simply keep my integrity in my own dealings and not try to police the world (mind my own business), or do I have some sort of responsibility as collector to make other buyers aware that something's wrong?

WWGD? (What Would Gus Do?)

[Stonecat]

Good stuff. I guess the further removed the piece gets from you the harder it is to do anything, and the less likely anyone will listen, seller or buyer. I would say if you have restored a piece and see that the client or a buyer from the client, i.e. one or two parties removed, is shovelling BS then go ahead and blow the whistle, especially if you have documentation of the restoration (pictures, invoice/receipt, etc.). Honesty is the best policy / Crime never pays.....hmmm maybe there's a Roycroft epigram for this. Gus would just cuss
_________________

Stonecat

[Montesa]

I've been too nervous to buy any pottery for months now, since the LA pottery show. It was at that show that I got to see ( or not see ) the work of a restorer from Bakersfield, California. An honest dealer pointed out on a vase where the restorer had filled a hole for a lamp and a chunk out of the rim. I couldn't tell that ANY damage had ever been present. If the dealer had told me it was "pristine" I would have believed him. To make matters even more interesting, he brought out a blacklight and hit the piece at the damaged areas. Nothing showed up under the light....nothing. Apparently, pottery can be re-fired to a point and this procedure makes certain repairs invisible to the blacklight. Nice .

Has it come to the point where I need to take a chemistry set with me to pottery shows, or down to the local antique shop? Does Acetone need to be the new judge and jury? I don't mind a covered up chip here and there, as long as they are disclosed....but hairlines that run top to bottom that I can't see and I'm not told about...that I mind. I've meet a few dealers that think this new re-firing thing is an economic boost package for their booth. So, as it is, I buy no pottery from Ebay. I might bid on a piece with a small chip or two, as long as I get to see the damage and don't have to go by the word of some seller with no return policy.

All that being said, restorers should use restoration materials that show up under blacklight, or some other form of scrutiny. Have restorers band together and come up with their own kind of certification for the materials. Then make that restorer stand by the certification. There will be nothing to hide anymore. Consumer confidence will go up, demand will go up, prices will go up, everybody wins. Everybody but the shady dealers who have ruined the fun of collecting pottery.

[casequarter]

Kind of a tough situation you pose. One potential path - when you see a piece you've repaired appear at an auction, send an e-mail to the auction house (you don't necessarily need to identify yourself) letting them know where to look for the repair. The honest auction house will look into this and modify the condition report. Hopefully this would allow you to not publicly out your clients.

[Klay]

It IS a sticky situation. I've pondered it a lot, and I wanted to hear other's viewpoints.

The trouble with attacking a piece with acetone, is that you will probably ruin a very good repair that could have cost a good bit of money. I charge at least $75 for a simple chip repair and have charged $400 to mold new parts for a piece (and I'm considered very reasonable in this area).

Say you unknowingly buy a repaired piece for $400 and take it home and acetone it. You find evidence of a repair and in high dudgeon decide to see how extensive it is. after a half-can of acetone you see that the entire piece was broken, glued back together and restored. Now it's worth about $75 (maybe) and you've destroyed a $200 repair. If you have no recourse for taking it back, your $400 "mint" piece (which was really worth $300 with an invisible repair) is now just a bitter reminder of the dealer's dishonesty and a testament to the effectiveness of acetone as a paint solvent.

If you suspect a repair: GENTLY wash the piece under cold water with a little dish washing soap. Do not use anything even slightly abrasive to wash or dry it with. A professional repair will hold up to this kind of cleaning.

With any surface dirt rinsed off, take a clean Q-tip and dip it in (preferably) lacquer thinner or acetone (nail polish remover). Acetone is hardcore and will eat away a repair faster than the lacquer thinner will. Mineral spirits are too weak to use.

Wipe the excess thinner off the tip (lest it roll down the side of the repaired vase, leaving a nice trail) and lightly DAB (don't wipe) the suspected area. look at the Q-tip after each dab. If color is transfering to the Q-tip, STOP! Put the Q-tip down and STEP AWAY FROM THE VASE. DON'T wipe off the excess thinner on the piece, just let it dry. A great repair can be ruined in a heartbeat.

Now, just accept the fact your piece is repaired and don't be tempted to "make sure" or try to find the extent of the repair. This will be hard, because you won't want to believe it's repaired or you will be mad and want to find out exactly how bad you've been screwed.

At least this way, you've only "lost" $100 by having a repaired piece instead of the $300 you would've lost by ruining the repair.