Appraisal: Royal Doulton Sung Ware Bowl, ca. 1930

GUEST: My neighbor gave it to me as a gift, and I knew nothing about it and she didn't either, really; it came from a family member of hers down in Florida.

She got it about 40 years ago and passed it along to me.

APPRAISER: Well, it's beautifully enamel-decorated, and as, as we look through the piece, you have sort of a little bit of the flambé colors rubbed in with the various enamel colors.

But what makes it really important is who made it and who decorated it.

It's marked with a Royal Doulton mark.

The Royal Doulton Manufacturer in England.

GUEST: I've heard the name, yes.

(chuckles) APPRAISER: Long history of, of line of potters, and they did some amazingly good works.

GUEST: Wow.

APPRAISER: Now, this is also signed in two other places.

It's signed right here "Sung."

Sung is a ware that was made in China surely, a much earlier period than this, but that's where the influence came from.

GUEST: Okay.

APPRAISER: And they call this particular style Sung ware.

GUEST: Sung ware.

APPRAISER: And it was done from a period of about 1920 to 1940.

GUEST: Oh, okay.

APPRAISER: Also signed "N-O-K-E." "Noke."

And the gentleman's name was Charles Noke, and he was the chief designer for Doulton and had started working in Doulton from about 1899 and worked at Doulton till he passed away in 1941, and he established a number of the, the premier wares that were produced in Doulton from 1900 to about 1940.

You see that wonderful, unusual glaze on the back side as well.

GUEST: That's what I like, right here-- lots of greens and blues.

APPRAISER: And that's a technique that he pretty well perfected, and even in the base here, you'll see that flambé-- just that red color that shows through here.

So the combination of these marks would definitely place this properly between 1920 and 1940.

Now, the condition of it is just fabulous.

And really, really is a wonderful example.

This type of Doulton is very collectible today.

And at auction, I would expect it to sell in the range of $3,000 to $5,000.

GUEST: Oh, my.

(chuckling): Oh, gosh.

Oh, well, I'll have to tell my friend.

She may want it back.

(laughs)