H7

John Sewell

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Q: I found this doll stroller at the local dump last week. I would guess someone was cleaning out a property and thought it was trash. It's 52cm high (20 inches) and 58cm long (23 inches). The large wheels are bent wood with steel rims. The small wheels don't turn, but this could be due to rust. The wicker is in perfect shape, there are no tears in the fabric and the top folds down with ease.

-- Barb, Minden, Ontario

A: This sets off alarm bells for me. Finding something that's supposed to be almost 100 years old in this kind of pristine condition -- at the dump -- and with no signs of wear and tear is very suspicious. The question is, is it really old or is it a reproduction someone decided to ditch? Let's assume for a moment this might be the real thing. These carriages, buggies or prams, as people call them, have a long and interesting history. The first one was designed in 1733 for the Duke of Devonshire -- for his children of course, not him. In 1888 Germans were actually required to carry a licence in order to take a baby for a walk in a carriage and they were relegated to the right hand side of the sidewalk. If this pram is old (and it needs to be inspected in person to determine authenticity) then it will date to roughly 1895. If it's a repro it may only be a few years old, but made to look old -- rust and all -- and it will likely have been made overseas. A lot of reproduction carriages have come out of the Philippines in recent years. If it's old, it's worth about $400. If it's new, more like $75.

Q: My wife, who was born in Egypt in 1949, says this vase has been around since before she was born. Her parents, who were Greek, brought it to Canada when they emigrated. It's 41cm tall (almost 16 inches) and it's very heavy. There's writing on the bottom, but it's difficult to read.

-- Ron, Hamilton, Ontario

A: Louis Comfort Tiffany, one of the world's greatest glass makers, was so impressed by some of the glass made by this company that he tried to copy it. Your French cameo vase, which dates to about 1900, was made by a company known as the Cristallerie de Pantin, which simply translates to the Pantin Factory, which was founded in France in 1850 and moved to Pantin, near Paris, in 1855. The company, which is not all that well-known in collectors' circles, also made paperweights, drinking glasses and chandeliers. Cameo glass is made of different layers of coloured glass where either hydroflouric acid or hand-cutting, or both, were used to cut away the various layers to create different designs and expose the underlying colours. Cameo glass is still very collectible and this is a nice example, even if it's not as colourful as some. This is a large, handsome vase and I don't think it's a stretch to suggest it's worth as much as $2,000.

Q: I bought this armoire from an antique shop in Chatham over 30 years ago and paid $595 for it. I think it's burled walnut. It also has very detailed carvings in the two top panels. It comes apart in four pieces, has a bevelled mirror, all the original hardware and two deep, locking drawers. It's 198 cm tall (78 inches) and 135 cm wide (53 inches.)

-- Mary, Windsor, Ontario

A: These wardrobes are typical of a style made between 1880 and 1910. The centre mirror with a door on either side was a popular configuration. The overall style takes its cue from the Aesthetic Period, which adopted various Japanese designs, such as the foliage, vines and naturalistic carving on these wood panels. It's hard to tell the type of wood it's made from, but you could be right; it may be burled walnut. It also looks a little like cherry to me though. It could even be a combination of the two. The dental work along the top moulding, the raised shaped panels and the chip carving on the door edges all add up to a high-quality piece of furniture. Wardrobes aren't selling as well as they once were, but I still think this one would be worth about $1,750 today, maybe a bit more.

* John Sewell is an antique 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.*