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Man has used metal implements since at least the Bronze Age. In modern times, we've made objects both useful and purely decorative from metals of all types. In today's What's It Worth, readers ask about items in each category.
Q. I have this teapot and I wanted to find out who made it but the company name has been rubbed off I was hoping you might help. It is about 6 inches tall and 8 inches from spout to handle. The only thing I can read on the bottom is, "MFG Co." and "Quadruple Plate 337." -- Susan in Kennewick
A. Quadruple plate was a mark used to indicate that four times the normal amount of silver had been plated on to the item. Other categories manufacturers used were double plate and triple plate. Each was supposed to convey the idea of a higher than average quality piece.
The "quad plate" things we see in the market today are almost exclusively from Victorian times -- Queen Victoria having ruled from 1837 to 1901. And, these items are usually from the later part of that time period and even into the early 20th century.
Mainly used as a mark on items for the table, your teapot is quite typical. Commonly found pieces include baby cups, creamers, sugar bowls, bon bon plates, coffee pots and butter dishes -- among others.
There were dozens of American firms making quadruple plate items back then. Nearly all were located in the northeastern part of the country, especially Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut.
With the manufacturer's name obscure, it's not possible to say which one of those many companies made it. The design isn't something we can assign to any individual factory. Even if we could, those companies copied shamelessly from each other's pattern books and this could have been made by any of a number of factories.
The whole "better than the usual" plating designation setup -- quad, triple and double plate -- was mostly a marketing idea designed to indicate the buyer was getting more for their money.
In truth, the layer or layers of silver used to plate the items (the base metal on the best pieces was copper) was so thin that there was little difference between the designations. We see many pieces of quad plate where the silver has been almost completely rubbed off and the underlying metal exposed.
There are many examples of this kind of American silverplate available to collectors today and, while there are some avid collectors, the market is fairly thin.
A piece like this in good condition would be priced at $25 to $35 in a shop. Knowing the maker wouldn't make much difference in value.
Q. This bronze statue is 30 inches tall and weighs about 60 pounds. It is of a young woman holding a long stemmed flower with both hands in front of her. She is dressed in medieval style clothing with a purse hanging down the left side of her dress. The signature is "Pierre Oge" and I know from Internet searches that there were a number of sculptors in the Oge family with many bronzes similar to this. How could this be evaluated for insurance purposes? -- Neil in Richland
A. An insurance appraisal would require much more research and preparation of a formal, written report, both beyond the scope of What's It Worth. You may want to find an appraiser with expertise in this area.
That being said, we can tell you a few things about your statue.
Pierre Marie Francoise Oge, a French sculptor, indeed came from a long line of artists. The Oge family produced painters, poster artists and sculptors who were active through most of the 19th century and up until at least World War I. Pierre Marie lived from 1849 to 1913.
This particular model is well-known in the art world and comes across the auction block from time to time, mostly in England and France.
In 2000, Sloan's auctioneers in Washington, D.C., sold a 24-inch version of this signature for $1,100. In 2006, Wilkinson's auctioneers in Doncaster, England, sold one measuring just over 30 inches for 3,200 British pounds, which at the time was about $6,000.
The wide range in auction prices over the past decade points to the need for extensive market analysis and condition evaluation to establish a current insurance value.
