Dear Helaine and Joe: This vase is about 7 inches tall and has two sides decorated with sprigs of flowers. The third side has a boy and the fourth has a girl. All the designs are white and are raised off the surface. Could you tell me its age, origin and worth? — S.C., Santa Maria, Calif.
Dear S.C.: One of the most persistent myths in the world of antiques is that glass items painted with images of children seen in full-length profile were painted by Mary Gregory at the Boston and Sandwich Glass Co. during the last half of the 19th century.
There was indeed a Mary Gregory who painted glass at the Boston and Sandwich factory, but recent research reveals that she did not paint images of children. Her scenes were always — as far as we know — animals and landscapes.
Still, pieces of glass such as the one belonging to S.C. have been called "Mary Gregory" for decades, and there is no indication that collectors will ever change this nomenclature, no matter how inaccurate it happens to be.
It is now thought that "Mary Gregory" glass actually originated in Europe and was primarily made in Bohemia (the modern day Czech Republic), England and Italy. When these charming pieces were exported to this country, they were copied by several glasshouses located on the East Coast. But there is no indication that Boston and Sandwich was one of them.
The value of a piece of "Mary Gregory" depends largely on the color of the base glass and what the figure or figures are doing. Examples of 19th-century "Mary Gregory" glass can be found in clear colorless, amber, green, blue, cranberry and very rarely in amethyst.
The piece belonging to S.C. is an ewer, not a vase, and it is amber with a blue handle. To us, this indicates a circa 1885 date of manufacture with Bohemia as a probable place of origin.
The children seen on this ewer are both walking in a landscape with their arms raised in a rather delicate pose, and they are doing absolutely nothing in particular. Pieces of "Mary Gregory" that have images of children holding tennis rackets, rolling a hoop or trying to entice a butterfly to land on an upraised finger are much more prized by collectors.
The value of S.C.'s "Mary Gregory" piece is somewhat enhanced because there are two children depicted instead of just one and it is the form of an ewer, which is a desirable shape.
This ewer, or pitcher, does not seem to have any chips or cracks. But the interior appears to be a bit cloudy. This could mean the inside surface has deteriorated. If this is the case, the worth is greatly reduced. If it cleans up, however, the insurance replacement value is between $250 and $350.
Helaine Fendelman and Joe Rosson are the authors of Treasures in Your Attic (HarperCollins, $18). Questions can by mailed to them at P.O. Box 12208, Knoxville, TN 37912-0208.