Rande Bly of Birmingham, Alabama opines on the question of whether an eBay piece was Carder Steuben or not

I have been wanting to reply to this subject but have been busy working. I now have a chance.

All the way back to the beginning. The compote. Is it Steuben? I say no. It is lacking in grace. I am very familiar with the seller and if it has a curve and a color he sells it as Steuben. However, I have not let this stop me from buying a few good pieces of Steuben from him. If the sellers spoil their reputations by careless identification all the better for me as a buyer. I agree with Wilson. The buck stops with us as collectors and dealers. We want to play this field we better know what we are doing. I have bought pieces on a chance and when they arrived I had the opportunity to hold them only to find they were not Steuben. In these cases I have never asked for a refund. Schooling is not free and nothing else demonstrates a better lesson. These e-bay sellers are not in their basements with a rubber stamp and a vile of acid. Ninety eight percent of them are just doing the best they can with the knowledge they have. We are the experts and collectors and as a group have gathered the cream of experience and first hand knowledge, some of what is not even in books yet. E-bay is not Wal Mart and it does not provide a 90 day to try it return policy. We go to e-bay to buy for one reason. Hey come on, it is to get a good deal. If some people have more money than knowledge and want to buy off a promise we have been provided places to go to make sure our money is safe. We all feel great when we buy a piece from Rockwell and it becomes part of its providence and part of its value. ” I got this piece off of e-bay” is not a providence. Not every piece has a shape number so even the best of us have to sell pieces we are certain are Steuben but have no proof. As both a buyer and seller on e-bay I have chosen to take the responsibility on both ends. I get a bad piece….my fault. I sell a bad piece I stand behind it and give a refund with free shipping both ways even if you feel it is not Steuben. I also agree with Bob. If you are not sure enough to take a chance pass on the piece. Some of my best pieces have come at the highest risk. I like buyers beware but I also like buyers take responsibility.

Now a short bit on color. The compote was in a shade of purple. This presents 4 possibilities and we only had a photo to go by. Thick Wisteria can get quite purple. Amethyst is next possibility. It was too light for Steuben’s standard rich or Dark Amethyst. Light Amethyst would be a great possibility. The 1932 catalog shows a 6030 was sold in both Wisteria and Light Amethyst. I feel Light Amethyst is even a more rare color than Wisteria. Last possibility would be Gold Purple. If Gardner was right in plate XV A about the Celeste Blue Vase with Gold Purple handles this was the closest to the compote. Light Amethyst can also be viewed in the same color plate. Gold Purple also comes in the foot of Celeste Blue Perfumes. We see next to none of both Gold Purple or Light Amethyst and upon seeing these colors it would be a common mistake to think these were not Steuben colors. It is a real treasure to find either. The compote however would have been none of the above.