Another Fantastic Goodwill Find

On several occasions I have walked into thrift stores and have found items that were vintage collectibles and that I thought might have some worth to someone.  My finds include a Royal Delft Bowl, Some Replogle Globes, Moon and Stars Compotes, Asian Ivory Wall Hangings and even a vintage toy Kaleidoscope.  These have all sold for a nice profit and I am always on the lookout for the next “great find.”  Unfortunately, my luck has not been as good as the lady in North Carolina this past April.

Beth Feeback is an artist who bought two large paintings at the local Goodwill.  Her intent was not to make a profit on them, but to paint over them.  You see, large blank canvases can cost quite a bit of money to an artist.  So many artist buy used paintings on canvas and then recycle the canvas by putting their own artistic creations on them.  Usually this is a very smart move because the paintings you find at thrift stores are mostly done by amateurs or recreational painters.  However, not so in this instance.

When she got home, Ms. Feeback did what I, and just about anyone else, would have done.  She “Googled” the artist’s names and to her surprise found that one of the artists was not an amateur at all, but none other than Illy Bolotowski.  To a lot of people, including Beth, the name would have probably meant nothing if she hadn’t searched it.  But as it turns out, Illy Bolotowski was a Russian born abstract painter from New York.

The painting Beth was about to paint over was titled Vertical Diamonds and it is estimated that it will bring in some $20,000 - $30,000 at auction.  In fact, the painting will be auctioned off in September.  Not a shabby find at the Goodwill Store for Beth Feeback and a nice tidy profit of probably over $20,000. 

Royal Delftware Pottery

Although Delftware is commonly identified with The Netherlands, the truth is that the original patterns and for that matter the original potters were not natives to Holland. In the 16th century, Italian potters immigrated to Belgium and then later moved to on to Rotterdam. By the mid 17th century, the town of Delft was firmly established as a pottery center and at one time they had more than 100 pottery factories. The Konninklije Porceleyne Fles factory was founded in 1653 and still stands today. The name of the factory actually translates to “The Porcelain Bottle” and refers to the Royal Delft trademark.

The Artisans who work on the Royal Delftware must train for at least one year before they are allowed to work on their own. The Artisans use brushes made with hair of squirrels. The cobalt blue paint actually starts out as black with a cobalt oxide added. The cobalt oxide turns a rich cobalt blue during the firing process. The addition of water determines the shades of cobalt. Most of the scenes and or patterns on the Delftware are Dutch in nature. There are many copies of the famous Delft patterns, by the Chinese and Europeans, but none is as beautiful as a piece of the hand painted Royal Delftware Pottery.

The Royal Delftware bowl pictured to the right was a real steal at the Salvation Army Thrift Store in Manassas, Virginia. It was late sold on eBay to a very eager buyer.

NOVA-Antiques Newsletter Archives - June 23, 2005 . . . .