Priceless Porcelain in the Tupperware Bin

by Patricia W
(Bonney Lake, WA)

My very best thrift store find so far was a discovery I made at a Goodwill in Tacoma, Washington. I was making my usual rounds up and down the aisles and for some reason stopped at the bin with all of the plastic and tupperware.

I had always avoided those bins because I wasn't usually interested in plastics. As I walked past the plastics bin I noticed a small brown bowl.

I thought it looked like a piece of 1950's or 1960's vintage plastic and picked it up. Upon closer inspection it turned out to be a very thin...eggshell thin pottery bowl with a unique "volcanic" type glaze and a signature on the bottom.

It was priced at 49 cents and happened to be half off that day, so I figured for 25 cents how could I go wrong. I brought it home...and found the signature "Natzler" in my pottery marks guide.

The Natzlers were a husband and wife team of studio art potters from the 1950's and 1960's. They were well known for their unique use of glazes and their thin, delicate pottery.

I went online and found some auction results and was excited to see that pieces like mine were selling for $1,000.00 and up. I held onto the bowl for a few years and finally decided to sell it through a professional auction house back east.

The auction estimate was in the $3,500.00 to $4,500.00 range...then it was amended and lowered after they discovered a hairline crack in the piece.

A few months later it went up for sale at the auction and sold for $1,400. Not a bad return on a 25 cent investment...needless to say I don't pass up any bins or aisles at thrift stores any more!

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