All that is green is not jade
Q A dear friend’s father received this jade carved lion as a gift from Chinese business associates sometime in the ’80s. The carving is quite intricate, and there are four “doughnuts” hanging freely from the lid and each end of the figure. It measures about 16.5 cm (6.5 inches) from nose to tail, and 19 cm (7.5 inches) from the top of the lid to the bottom of his paws. Do you know what it is, and could you help us value it? Elle, Toronto
A I contacted Asian art expert Colin Ritchie of Colin Ritchie & Company, Victoria, B.C. for help on this one. He identifies your treasure as a classic Chinese bronze-form censer depicting a Buddhist lion with an urn on its back. He points out it is a 20thcentury piece and definitely hand-carved, although the green stone here is not jade.
It may be bowenite, serpentine or another of the green stones used for carving in Asian cultures. It is potentially quite collectible, given its good size. Chinese buyers are very strong these days, and this is worth in the area of $500. Q I found this sketch in my mother’s things after she passed away. It is about 19 by 10 cm (7.5 x 4 inches). The inscription reads “To Miss Anderson from Payne, N.Y. Herald, Skagway, Alaska.” It is dated July 17-22 for 1922. I believe the Miss Anderson would be great aunt Laura Anderson, who was a teacher who never married and was born in 1889. She was from Burnt Church, N.B. Laura passed away in early 1960. I’ve taken it out of the wooden frame so you can see he just drew a frame around the sketch. The faint lines in the drawing are his pencil sketch lines before using ink to actually do the drawing. I’m curious to have whatever information you can give me about this. Peter, Riverview, N.B.
A Charles M. Payne (1873-1964) was an American cartoonist best known for his cartoon strip S’Matter Pop, which ran from 1911-1939. He began his career writing comic strips in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, and after good success there he moved to Hollywood. He proposed S’Matter Pop in 1910 and it caught on with the New York World and papers of the Bell Syndicate, which included the New York Herald — part of the signature on your drawing. S’Matter Pop characters included Pop Willyum and Desperate Ambrose, and the strip depicted family dynamics of the times.
It was a great influence on Charles M. Schultz as he developed Peanuts. Payne was a colourful character and very successful, but he was mugged in 1962 and eventually died penniless two years later. This unique autographed sketch is a desirable piece of history, and is well worth $175. Q This Dresden cheese dish was given by a 90-year-old lady to my parents in 1940 as both a wedding present and as part payment for my father wiring the lady’s house. She told my parents she had received the dish as a wedding gift when she was married in her teens. Calculating back means that the dish should have been made before 1870, and is now at least 147 years old. The base on one side is 24 cm long (nine inches). The height to the top of the handle is 16 cm (six inches). It is marked ‘Dresden’ and in a rectangle ‘Rd No 36731.’ It is in great shape. What would it be worth today? Yours truly, Elaine, Ottawa
A The general purpose of these dishes was to serve a wedge of cheese, and this one has the look of many marked examples made by Franz Anton Mehlem. Mehlem produced earthenware products imitating porcelain at Bonn in the Rhineland region of Germany between 1836 and 1920. I’d check for a circular impressed mark on the base underside for confirmation.
According to the number you provide, the pattern name “Dresden” was registered during 1885. These dishes were quite popular, and many English producers were making similar designs at the turn of the century. They sold originally for about 50 cents.
This is a handsome piece, worth about $90 in the antiques marketplace today. John Sewell is an antiques and fine art appraiser. To submit an item to his column, go to the ‘Contact John’ page at www.johnsewellantiques.ca. Please measure your piece, say when and how you got it, what you paid and list any identifying marks. A high-resolution jpeg photo must also be included. (Only email submissions accepted.) * Appraisal values are estimates only.*