Quite an heirloom! Exemplar of Newcomb College pottery

Hi, Jon,

This vase has b een in our family forever. It belonged to my greatg randmother, and I remember it fondly at my g randmotherʼs home in South Carolina in the 1940s.

Senior appraiser Jon Felz of R.Z.M.Fine Arts & Antiques Inc. answers yourquestions on fine art,American coins,and great antiques.Send your questions and photos to rzmantique@aol.com

All examples of Newcomb College pottery were one-of-a-kind. Newcomb vases were always hand-thrown and the rarely seen tiles were hand-built.

Early Newcomb College pottery remains the most sought after and highest valued pieces.The majority of early Newcomb were produced in a mirror-like high glaze,glossy finishes.Nearly all Newcomb done at this time had incised designs.The glaze colors on these early pots were usually blue and creams often decorated with yellow or white florals.However,each piece was unique with greatly varying themes and designs.

BYJONFELZ

There are several markings on the bottom, and the piece is 7.25 inches tall.

A few years back we called an auction about a painting we had in our family. When the fellow from the auction house came to our house, he passed on the painting —but wanted the vase. My daughter declined to sell. Should we have sold?

My daughter and I look forward to reading your column

NORTHERN VALLEY every week. —Lydia in Ridgewood

Hi, Lydia, Your photos are so good that I can tell you everything about this wonderful vase, including the name of the artist: You have an Anna Frances Simpson piece, shape No. 315, made at the Newcomb Pottery College in New Orleans, La. in 1927.

N ewcomb College Pottery was a brand of American Arts & Crafts pottery produced from 1895 to 1940. The company grew out of the pottery program at H.

Sophie Newcomb Memorial College, the womenʼs college now associated with Tulane University. Newcomb college was founded to instruct young Southern women in liberal arts. This school opened in 1886; the production of art pottery for profit began in 1895.