Van Briggle Pottery

Ceramics, History, Marks, Pricing

Van Briggle at the Antique Faire

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Van Briggle pottery flower frogEvery second Sunday of the month, I make my early morning trip to the local Antique Faire here in Sacramento. This particular morning, my antique-hunting efforts were particularly fruitful. I started off looking for a few particular items, slowly meandering up and down aisles while I enjoyed my hot cup of coffee. I found one of the items I had on my list, a sterling napkin ring. I continued my browsing, when I happened upon a particularly chatty vendor. He had all sorts of weird and unique items of interest on his tables. It didn’t take me long to spot a flower frog with a dull-matte glaze. Instantly, I thought “Van Briggle!” I was familiar with the glaze and color, and the A-mark underneath the frog confirmed my thoughts.

Van Briggle pottery flower frogThe vendor saw me holding the frog and asked me if I knew it was Roseville pottery. I slyly said, “No, I didn’t know that.” I told him I would like it, and paid him $10. The flower frog had a beautiful checkered pattern on the top and was shaped like an upside-down sunflower with the Persian Rose glaze. This was one of the more unique flower frogs I would now own.

I continued to browse the aisles after my Van Briggle purchase, but I was hurried as I couldn’t wait to get home and add this piece to my collection.

I love collecting Van Briggle because of its colors and the matte-finish

A Van Briggle Flower Frog in Martinez, CA

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Van Briggle pottery flower frogI was in the small town of Martinez in California with my sister going from antique stores to thrift stores. We weren’t looking for anything in particular, being collectors of many things, but just for anything that caught our eyes. We found a small store filled to the brim with bric-a-brac and collectibles. It was one of those stores where as soon as you walked in, your eyes were quick in finding treasures which appealed to taste.

After browsing the aisles and finding several items I was interested in purchasing, I decided to give the glass cases up front a once-over. The cases held all kinds of miscellaneous smaller collectibles. I saw a small burgundy-colored flower frog that I had never seen before. I instantly thought it could be a Van Briggle pottery piece. I asked the shop owner if I could see and hold the frog. The price tag had “Van Briggle?” written on it and the price of $18. The owner told me she really liked Van Briggle pottery. She told me Van Briggle pottery was from Florida, but based on my readings on your website, VanBriggle.net, I knew it was actually made in Colorado. I also knew the glaze on this frog was called the Mulberry glaze. I was a bit skeptical of any further knowledge or information she offered on this piece. I checked the bottom and found the tell-tale “A in a square box” mark. I knew for sure this was an authentic piece.

Van Briggle pottery flower frogI asked for the best price, and she sold me the Van Briggle flower frog for $15. I was very happy with the fair price offered.