Rarity not always defining factor in item’s worth
Terry & Kim Kovel This unique antique sofa made of shells from New Brunswick, Canada, sold at auction for $4,613.
but it sold for $4,613. No doubt the buyer liked the ocean and had an independent taste in furniture.
Q: I’m seeking information about a pair of salt-andpepper shakers marked “Quaker Silver” and “506.” The bottom contains an emblem of a Quaker.
A: The Quaker Silver Co. was in business in North Attleboro, Massachusetts, by 1926. It made sterling silver, silver plate and pewter holloware. The company was bought by Gorham in 1959. Salt-and-pepper shakers marked “506” are made of pewter. They
usually sell for $15 to $20.
Q: I inherited a set of eight Boehm plates, “The Musical Maidens of the Imperial Dynasties.” They picture Asian maidens playing musical instruments. Each plate is in the original sleeve and box and has a letter of authentication.
What are they worth?
A: Edward Marshall Boehm and his wife, Helen, founded Edward Marshall Boehm in Trenton, New Jersey, in 1950.
The factory made dishes in its early days, but elaborate, lifelike bird figurines are its best-known ware.
Edward Marshall Boehm died in 1969, but the company continued to design and produce porcelain.
In 2015, the assets, molds and trademarks of the company were bought by the Museum of American Porcelain Art in the Cleveland suburb of South Euclid, and a museum is scheduled to open this year.
The Musical Maidens set was made in 1984. Each plate pictures a beautiful Chinese woman playing a musical instrument. The plates, which say “Inspired by the Golden Age of Chinese Porcelain” on the back, include Ceremonial Flute, Gong, Reed Organ, Balloon Guitar, Three Stringed Guitar, The Common Flute, Harp and Lute. The plates sell for less than $30.
Current prices
Current prices are recorded from antiques shows, flea markets, sales and auctions throughout the United States. Prices vary by location because of local economic conditions.
• Cut-glass bowl: hobstars, alternating with divided diamonds, stars, rayed starts; 4 by 9 inches; $20
• Spatterware, bowl, soup, tulip, red and white, blue tips, green leaves, red border, 10 inches, $120
• Tazza: Rose Medallion, oval-shaped, birds, people, scenes of interior rooms in four reserves, multicolor; 2¾ by 13 inches; $150
• Vase: porcelain, hexagonal, long neck, Figures in a landscape, multicolor, white ground, Chinese; 11½ by 35⁄ inches; $200
• Paperweight: Shaw, disk, mountains, moon, blue sea, crossing planets, 1990s; 8½ by 6¼ inches; $250
• Sculpture: “A Secret Base Somewhere in the West,” shelves, ladders, wooden, Ed Kerns; 22 by 24 inches; $280
• Paul Revere bookend: pink, curved panels, owl on branch, Saturday Evening Girls; 4 by 5 inches, pair; $1,000
• Dining table: round, marquetry, Yin and Yang, 6 legs; 30 by 53¾ inches; $1,120
• Coin-operated slot: Mills, war eagle, 25 cent, marbletopped wood cabinet, 1931; 24½ by 14 inches; $1,125