Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Royal Haeger Mauve Agate

Royal huh what? A royal mouthful, is what that is.

I am so glad for Vintage Thingie Thursday! Not only because I get to see all the fabulous thingies linked at Colorado Lady, but also because when else would I ever clean this stuff? I mean, I'm a good enough housekeeper, but you know sometimes you don't really clean all the gee-gaws on the shelf until you've got people coming over who might actually look at them, right?

Well, maybe that's just me, but regardless, welcome! I've dusted just for you!

You may recall that I have a fondness for mid-century art pottery, especially Royal Haeger. I've talked about it in more detail here, and specifically about the stylized work of designer Royal Hickman in the late '30s and '40s.

Today I pulled all the Royal Haeger pieces I have in the mauve agate glaze. It's kind of a pinky-blue-green mottled glaze, which colors might take you back to the 1980s, but the mauve agate glaze actually dates back some 40 years before that.

Here's a closeup of a three-tier block candle holder, which dates to around 1950. While I don't intend to decorate my house in these colors anytime soon (been there, done that), I do think they're beautiful here.

I found these two three-tier candle holders at a thrift store a few months ago, and I marched them immediately to the cash register before anyone could change the $1.99 price tag. They're worth about $20 to $40 apiece in a good market. The market is not so good at the moment, but if you're looking to start collecting this kind of stuff, now might be the time to start.

This monstrosity, otherwise known as "Sphere with Three Feather Plumes," or mold number R-281, is a planter. Sometimes I call it "the brain." It's about the size of your head, and the thing looks like it should have a pulse.

I found it listed as far back as the 1942 Haeger catalog. This was an eBay purchase, as were the rest of these. About 10 years ago, its value was in the $125 to $175 range. No, I did not pay that!

This is called a "Ruching Bowl," R-309, and is from the mid- to late '40s, as are the two tulip bud vases, R-496. The vases don't belong inside the bowl, of course, because that's where you would normally have your delicious ruchings (just kidding).

And I'm sure no one reading today cares about the mold numbers, but the Haeger aficionados who will Google this in the months to come might. And then again, they might not either, but I like to have my bases covered.

Unlike this woman, who apparently likes her bases uncovered.

This is one of the more interesting pieces in my collection, "Woman Riding Fish Flower Block," also known as "Nude on Fish Flower Frog," R-363. This piece is very characteristic of Royal Hickman's design style. I found this one, again, as far back as the 1942 catalog.

I'm no prude, but can you see yourself buying this in 1942? I can't, but maybe it was a popular gift item among husbands. "Honey, you mentioned you needed something for your flower arrangements. What do you think of this little number?"

Hey, who knows, that was before cable TV. I'm sure it was a conversation piece, anyhow.

If you'd like to see more information (and gorgeous photography) on Haeger pottery, these books are both wonderful references.

Thanks for visiting!

24 comments:

Charlotte said...

This stuff is beautiful! I have never heard of Haegar before, but I will be looking out for it. Love the nude on a fish frog! I could see that in my house :)

Tara Beaulieu said...

LOL, your post is hysterical, I love your commentary on the nude riding fishback! Such an interesting finish, I have never seen anything like it before!

Sarah Craig said...

Wow those are so cool! I will definitely keep my eye peeled in the future - looks like the kind of thing that might turn up at my local Goodwill store! What does the maker mark look like on the bottom - does it say Haeger or is it a symbol?

Pam Kessler said...

I have never seen the mauve agate before. I'll have to start looking for it. I'm sure I would remember naked lady if I had seen her before though.

Postcardy said...

I like the glaze--it reminds me of opals.

Blue Ridge Altered Art said...

I think Haeger was one of the first companies to supply vases and containers to the florist industry. I am a florist and collect the all white matte finish vases. You have a beautiful collection. Thanks for sharing.

Anonymous said...

I wasn't familiar with Haegar either--thanks for sharing your collection!

Coloradolady said...

I remember my grandmothers brother having some of these pieces, well..actually, they may have belonged to his wife, but I always was interested in them, they were always in the living room... I really like the colors of your pieces. Have a great VTT!

P.S. sometimes, the only time I dust certain things is for their photo shoot!!!

Maureen said...

What a fun post! Woman Riding Fish...and husband. Haha!

Mary said...

Beautiful collection~ I enjoyed the commentary too! I so agree with the 1942 fish flower frog, rather racy for the day :-)

Miri said...

These are just so interesting! I did at first glance think 1980s :) and that just made it even more interesting...I just love how styles are always returning.

My favorite are the little bud vases. I wonder if the ruching bowl is called that because of the fluted lip (ruching in sewing is a way of gathering fabric)?

Michelle said...

Oh wow! I'm not any kind of collector (with the exception of fabric), but I REALLY like these pieces. What great colors and lines.

For some reason when looking at the nude woman riding the fish, I keep seeing bronco busters. Is that weird or what?

Thanks for sharing these lovely pieces.

cathysrunning said...

I've never seen anything like these! The color mix is stunning! That gal on the fish is pretty spectacular! Thanks for dropping by on VTT!

Elizabeth said...

That last one is, um, certainly . . . intersting. You can't help but look at that semi-pornographic {for 1942} piece and think, what is that . . . nude on the . . . fish doing? And what is with the base? Is it a flower? Is it a frog?. Perhaps that's how it came by it's name? In any case, those are all very pretty pieces. Thanks for sharing!

BTW, I love the quilt they're sitting on. Have you posted that somewhere else? I'd love a closer look?

xo -E

Sally Annie Magundy said...

I'd never heard of Haeger before either, thanks so much for sharing your lovely collection with us and for all the info. The glaze is fascinating, the coloration really is "of it's time", so unusual.

Happy VTT,
Sally

Vonlipi said...

Quite an interesting collection!

I love the candle holders. But the Sphere with Three Feather Plumes is quite scary! I would worry that it might get me during the night.

The Nude/Fish/Flowers thingy is quite strange but beautiful at the same time. I would like to see it with flowers.

Thanks for showing us those wonderful dishes!

Stacey said...

What a great collection- I especially love the nude. But all of it is very impressive as a group!

Joe said...

Patricia Paulette... You realize that you are 17 cats away from becoming a crazy lady, don't you?

P.S. My bases are covered.

Debbie-Dabble Blog and A Debbie-Dabble Christmas said...

Such gorgeous pieces!! I am familiar with Haegar but not in these great colors!!

Debbie

Anna said...

Such interesting pieces, and you're right, I was totally thinking 80s when I first saw this. Thanks for sharing!

Anonymous said...

Enjoyed your blog love your sense of humor. I'm also a big Haeger collector check out my pics at yahoo's Flickr sire search Royal Haeger and find pics bt haegernerd click on one and that should lead you to my photostream at that site.

Terri said...

And I was completely familiar with Haeger...hence the reason I googled and dropped in here. Just got myself the Sphere with Three Plumes. and have most of the other peices except the nude and candlesticks. Nice collection. Hat's off to a fellow Haeger collector!
Terri in WI

Anonymous said...

Lovely to see this so many years later! I do appreciate the model numbers - you had great forethought

Unknown said...

Thank you for teaching me something. I have 2 1940’s Royal Haeger Mauve Agate 21” Bottle Vases R251. I decided they are not my style and was going to put them in a garage sale. Just for the heck of it I turned one of them over and looked at the bottom markings. To my surprise they are American Pottery. These are colors my Mom really liked and she had one on each side of the fireplace. Which is now my fireplace.