How much is Roseville pottery worth?
Roseville is an American art pottery with many lines. The mark, the shape number, and a crack in the foot are the identification. Most florals are not the rare line.
Roseville Pottery of Zanesville made art pottery for decades, in lines people know by flower and glaze: Pine Cone, Sunflower, and many others, plus earlier and later work that does not look like the florals. The thrift and estate version is often a middle-period floral vase with a foil sticker or a raised Roseville mark. Reproductions of the popular lines exist and have for years. A real mark, a shape number, and clay that looks right are the checks. A sticker that says Roseville is a sticker.
Condition is chips on the rim, a hairline, and a professional repair that shows under a black light or in raking sun. This page will not price Pine Cone. It will tell you to read the shape number and to search that, sold, in the same color. The estate-sale guide is the warning against a whole shelf priced as if every vase were the best line.
What to look for
- The mark
- Raised “Roseville” on many middle-period pieces, an ink mark, a silver or black paper label, or an earlier mark that is not the word in script. Photograph whatever is there. A worn-off mark is a problem. Say the mark is partial rather than completing it from memory.
- Shape number
- A number impressed in the bottom that identifies the form. It is how you search. A vase and a jardiniere with the same flower are different shapes and different numbers. Read the number, including a suffix.
- Line and color
- The flower and the ground color. Pine Cone in blue and Pine Cone in brown are both Pine Cone and they do not always comp together. Show the color in daylight, not under a warm lamp that turns green into brown.
- Damage
- Rim chips, a crack in the foot, and glaze misses. A crack that goes through is structural. A burst bubble in the glaze can be manufacturing. If you cannot tell, say “mark in the glaze, shown” and let the photo do the work. Do not call a crack a glaze pop.
What moves the price
- Line
- Some lines are common in the market and some are not. The difference is in sold comps of that line and shape, not in how much you like the flower. A common floral vase is allowed to be a modest vase.
- Shape and size
- A large jardiniere and a small bud vase from the same line are different objects. Measure the height. Put the shape number in the title once you can read it.
- Repairs
- A repaired rim is a repaired vase. Collectors pay less, sometimes much less. Disclose it. A black light you do not own is not required if the repair is obvious in sunlight. If it is obvious, you have no excuse.
- Reproductions
- Later copies of popular Roseville lines often get the mark wrong, the weight wrong, or the molding soft. If the piece is light, the mark is a sticker, and the price is a “deal,” walk. Selling a reproduction as Roseville is a false listing. When unsure, say you are unsure and price it as unsure.
Where to sell
- eBay
- Line, color, shape number, height, and a photo of the mark and any chip. Pottery breaks in transit. Double box it. A signature confirmation does not heal a rim.
- Local antique dealers
- A useful floor for a piece you cannot identify, and a wholesale number. If they name the line and you confirm the number, you can decide whether their offer matches a sold comp or just their shelf.
- Pass
- An unmarked floral vase at a Roseville price is the standard trap. The mark is not optional.
What a photo can settle
The whole form, the decoration, the bottom mark and number, and the rim in raking light. Worth can read a clear Roseville mark. It cannot feel a hairline under the glaze from a front photo. The rim and the foot are the condition.
Questions
- If it says Roseville on the bottom, is it real?
- A correct mark is strong evidence and not the whole job. Reproductions have faked marks. Weight, molding, and the shape number still have to make sense. A sticker is not a mark. When the signals disagree, do not pay the real line’s price.
- Is all brown floral pottery Roseville?
- No. Many American potteries made brown florals. The mark and the number are the identification. A look-alike without the mark is a look-alike, which can be a good vase and a bad Roseville purchase.
- Should I repair a chip before selling?
- A visible amateur glue job is usually worse than the chip. Leave it, disclose it, or use a restorer and say restored. Do not blend it and hope the photo is small.