The Rookwood Pottery Company was at the forefront of the art pottery movement in the United States. It was founded in 1880 in Cincinnati, Ohio, by Maria Longworth Nichols, making it one of the earliest companies in America owned by a woman.

Many of its most notable artists were women, too.

Laura Anne Fry joined the company as a decorator in 1881. In addition to her skill as a ceramicist, she was an accomplished woodcarver, having trained with her father and grandfather, who carved decorative furniture and taught the art in Cincinnati.

Fry turned out to be one of the company’s most influential artists, developing an innovative technique to apply glaze using an atomizer that allowed for color gradients and blending.

This was crucial to the Rookwood Standard Glaze.

She was awarded a patent for her invention in 1889, the year Rookwood won a gold medal at the Paris Exposition Universelle.

In 1890, she left Rookwood for a job teaching art at Purdue University. She also worked for the Lonhuda Pottery Company about this time. She became the head of the art department at Purdue in 1893, a position she held until her retirement in 1922.

A Rookwood chocolate pot signed by Fry and dated 1885 sold at Fontaine’s Auction Gallery for $625.

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Q: We have a 1935 horsehair velvet sofa and chair in near-pristine condition. We want them to go to a museum or similar place where it will be taken care of. We have verification from the original maker of the age and who made the pieces.

We are planning to donate, not sell them. Do you have ideas where to look to find a home for them?

A: Look up museums in your area. Museum websites often have a page for donations with information about whether they are currently accepting, what types of items, including time periods, they look for, sometimes items that they do not accept, and often a contact form to fill out if you have something you would like to donate.

Art museums and history museums, especially house museums, may be interested in furniture. If there is an appropriate museum in your area that does not have a website, contact them and ask about donations.

Authenticity and conservation are important factors in whether a museum accepts a donation, so be sure to let the museum know you have documentation of the age and maker. That will be an advantage. If a museum you contact is not accepting donations, they may be able to direct you to an institution that does.

The Official Museum Directory, which is available online, may be a helpful resource. A library in your area may have a print copy.

If transportation is not an issue, a museum or university in the area where the furniture was originally made may be interested.

Remember that if a museum accepts your donation, that will not necessarily mean you will see it displayed.

A large portion of museum collections is kept for study and remains in storage.

If a museum accepts your donation, get a written agreement first. Some museums may sell items in their collections.

If you do not want this to happen to your furniture, you can include a requirement that they be returned to you instead.

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Q: I have a 12-piece setting of Noritake china in pattern 5609, including vegetable serving bowls, a gravy bowl, sugar and creamer, and two sizes of oval platters. I would like to know its value.

A: Noritake, which started as Nippon Toki Kaisha Ltd., was exporting porcelain dinnerware sets to the United States by 1914.

Its dinnerware sets are high quality, but were mass-produced in large quantities.

Pattern 5609, also called Belmont, was made from about 1955 to 1956. The pattern has platinum trim around the edge.

Sets of Noritake china the size yours sell for about $200 to $300 if they are in good condition. Serving pieces are worth about $20 to $40 individually, with the higher values going to the larger pieces, and a sugar and creamer set is worth about $20 to $30.

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Tip: Don’t put pottery or porcelain with crazed glaze in the dishwasher. It will crack even more.

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Current prices

Current prices are recorded from antiques shows, flea markets, sales and auctions throughout the U.S. Prices vary in different locations because of local economic conditions.

â-  Buster Brown, handkerchief, Buster Brown at the Zoo, Buster and animals around border, multicolor, speech balloons, Tige in center, red trim,

12 x 12 inches, $10.

â-  Pepsi-Cola, carrier, wood, painted base, red script logo, Bigger, Better, blue trim, yellow ground, metal top handle,

11¢ x 8¢ x 6 inches, $50.

â-  Lalique, figure, Anemone, flower, frosted glass, textured petals, raised and painted black dots around center, clear stem, signed, Lalique France, 3¢ x 4™ inches, $75.

â-  Star Wars, toy, Prune Face, cloak and eyepatch, Return of the Jedi, on card, Kenner, 1983, $150.

â-  Bottle, demijohn, olive green, blown glass, mounted as lamp, wood base, electrified, 32 inches, $195.

â-  Bronze, censer, cylinder, melon lobed, patinated, short foot, stamped character mark, Chinese,

c. 1900, 12 inches, $255.

â-  Furniture, cupboard, hanging, tiger maple, shaped crest, panel door, interior shelf,

23 x 16 inches, $435.

â-  Pottery-contemporary, olla, painted, allover geometric grid, red, black, white, hand coiled, signed, Loretta Garcia, Acoma Pueblo, 6¢ x 8¢ inches, $450.

â-  Silver-sterling, coffeepot, dome lid, scalloped gooseneck, lighthouse shape, round foot, wood handle, reproduction of Priest & Shaw, 10 inches, $800.

â-  Celadon, brush washer, round, turned in rim, blue and white interior, landscape, buildings, figures, trees, mountains in background, Chinese, 8 inches, $1,535.