Hello, I am currently cleaning out my great Aunt’s house who was an avid collector of Dresden figurines among many other figurines, lamps, etc. I don’t want to throw them on eBay, nor do I want to sell them at the estate sale. Do you have any tips or recommendations on how to sell these to someone who would value and appreciate them?
Thanks in advance!
The only way to hold them all apart is to know the producers and studios, knowing who was located where. Studio located *in* Dresden is good as its nearly always hand painted. Everything outside Dresden city (exception: [i]Carl Thieme[/i], who was located just outside Dresden city but in the suburb of Potschappel) often decorated only in “Dresden style”, and then mostly per transfer. There were good and lesser talented decorators, this also has to be taken into account. So when grading German “Dresden” I simply use these grading steps together with terms like “good”, “mediocre” or “bad”:
– decorated in Dresden & handpainted florals = grade 1a
– decorated in Dresden & handpainted patterns = grade 1b
– decorated in Dresden & transfer florals = grade 1c
– decorated in Dresden & transfer non-floral = grade 1d
– decorated in Germany but not in Dresden & handpainted florals = grade 2a
– decorated in Germany but not in Dresden & handpainted patterns = grade 2b
– decorated in Germany but not in Dresden & transfer florals = grade 2c
– decorated in Germany but not in Dresden & transfer non-floral = grade 2d
Everything else, be it “Irish Dresden” or the US Dresden Pottery items, can not be deemed real Dresden. Irish Dresden collectors will of course object, but an item made in Thuringia or Bavaria (or Ireland, in this case) and not even including an original Dresden floral decoration can hardly be termed “Dresden”, no exceptions or excuses accepted.
