A Victorian-era circa late 19thC early 20thC glass fruit plate

19th Century vase

Description and history

This is a Victorian-era style glass and bronze fruit plate circa late 19th century/early 20th century. In the pics, you can see that the glass is super glossy. This is because the glass was added lead oxide (PbO) which is an additive found in all kind of antique glassware.  The addition of lead oxide raises the glass’s refractive index, a measurement of how fast light passes through something. This means that lead glass has a more reflective appearance than traditional glass.

After checking with the customer, there isn’t any maker’s mark, so it is impossible to know how made it. From the pics, we can see that the bottom surface is rough. This roughness is found on metallic pieces that are sand cast.  Sand casting, also known as sand molded casting, is a metal casting process characterized by using sand as the mold material. The process leaves a rough surface (it is then polished to improve its appearance). Sand-cast plates are more valuable by collectors and are considered really interesting.

Similar pieces can be found online:

https://www.goantiques.com/martin-benito-lead-83128002

https://artemest.com/products/giove-bowl

Appraisal Value ($)

– 450-550$

How to sell it

As this object is made from precious metals, some precautions are needed to sell it. Safety first, if you sell it directly to an individual, make sure you meet the potential buyer at a public place, for instance, a coffee shop. If you ship the object, please, make sure to use a fully-insured shipment method and specifically declare the value of the shipment goods in the forms. The increased insurance fee is an investment and most likely, mandatory all the time. If you have any doubt about the buyer, I would recommend to inmediatly decline the sale. It is really easy to sell this item, so it isn’t worth taking excessive risks.

To sell the items, I would recommend doing so through the internet. You have plenty of options, for instance:

– Ebay, Craiglist, Etsy, Facebook ads, Amazon marktplace

I would probably go ahead and take a couple of good pictures, like described here:

https://www.channelreply.com/blog/view/how-to-take-photos-for-ebay

Then I would use the provided description as a text to the ad, and an attractive ad title will make it.

There isn’t any special difference between selling it on Etsy, FB or Amazon. I would recommend to upload the same ad to at least two or three platforms. It will ensure a high visibility of the ad.

The asking price can be close to the value, it depends upon how fast you want to sell. In general, an agressive strategy of 20% price cut will work great, however it depends upon your specific location.

About the valuation method

To value this item I have considered the results from past auction sales. Keep in mind that the final price can be different from asking prices that you can find on the internet. You can see ads on the internet with different asking prices. However, a very high asking price doesn’t normally find cash from a buyer. 

That’s why our method comprises searching and comparing similar past sale results that had a buyer. That’s why we can provide an accurate estimation of this item.