Holy Grail: Common Ground Pottery
A few weekends back, I went with Timmy to “The Super Auction” being held in Ann Arbor. The auction was in a giant pole barn on some farmland, and was actually several different auctions all happening at the same time. Timmy of course went to the sports auction, while I minced around at the others.
I should note that my dad isn’t crazy about us calling him “Timmy” on this blog. I learned of this recently, but told him that the readers would have a hard time following along if I suddenly started calling him “Tim.” Anyway, here he is picking up some of his winnings:
There were lots of great items at this auction, and prices seemed to be pretty high as a result.
That box of arrowheads in the photo above sold for over $500!
I didn’t stick around to see what that casket sold for, but no bones about it–it probably sold for lots.
One of the auctions taking place was all pottery. Pottery is actually something I could see myself collecting. I just don’t know enough about it yet.
Most of the pottery was Roseville, which Sarah and I have seen at estate sales before. I can’t say I’m a Roseville fan. It seems kind of boring.
I did see two non-Roseville pieces right away that I loved. I couldn’t make out the signature on the bottom, so I asked someone to look at the auction catalog. Turns out, these are made by Common Ground Pottery, and more specifically, a man named Eric Olson.
Gorgeous, right? I liked how these looked kind of Art Nouveau. Unfortunately, I didn’t buy either of these. Each vase sold for $275. This price is actually pretty good, because looking elsewhere, Common Ground stuff usually sells for over $500.
I started an ebay alert for Common Ground pottery on the off chance that someone is selling some cheap. Otherwise, it will remain a holy grail. One day, when I am rich, after buying Sasha dolls, I will buy Common Ground pottery.
Here are some other amazing examples I found online:
Ok, and to finish up, here are my dad’s auction treasures in the back seat of his car:
He seriously spent about 5 minutes flipping these around to find the safest travel position for each one.
-Erin