The Magazine Antiques

Cameo brooch set in 15k gold frame. The cameo is carved from a single piece of grey-brown agate which has a white vein running through it. Note the grey-brown agate edging into the white carved area from the side view which demonstrates that this is a single carved stone and not a carved stone attached to a flat stone. Agate is a harder stone than the typical carved shell cameo and therefore more difficult to carve.

The subject of the cameo, a female portrait with flowers in her hair, is the Roman goddess, Flora.

The cameo, which is probably Italian, though the frame could be English, is set in the Etruscan Revival style, which incorporates gold wire and gold bead work applied to the frame. Circa 1870

Value: $2,000 - $2,500

Arthur Guy Kaplan

Antique Jewelry - Fine Collectibles

P.O. Box 1942

Baltimore, MD 21203

410-752-2090

By the beginning of the 20th century, the attractive salt-glazed stoneware decorated with cobalt blue was no longer being produced.
In its place was a mechanically made, undecorated replica of the earlier handmade productions.

The stoneware pictured is a later piece probably made in the 1910-40 period. The 30 stamped in cobalt blue indicates that this crock is 30 gallons in size. The brown glaze on the inside and the upper half of the outside is called Albany slip. Albany slip is only used on American Stoneware and is a good differentiator from European stoneware. This crock could have been used by someone making pickles or wine, etc. Similar crocks are still being produced today.  The crack deters it from being collectible, the value would be between $10 and $35. 

Joyce and Ron Bassin

A Bird in Hand Antiques

PO Box 236

Florham Park, New Jersey 07932

973-410-007; www.abirdinhand.com