Rago Auctions

The technique of decorating pottery with slip originated as early as Bronze Age Minoan pottery. Slip decoration, however, was reinvented in the 19th century by none other than the esteemed ceramist Ernest Chaplet, who created a technique he termed ‘barbotine’. From the French barboter—”to splash” or “to daub”—barbotine consisted of painting colored clay slips onto ceramic bodies in a thick, impasto style which were then coated in a clear glaze, saturating the colors and imbuing them with qualities akin to an oil painting. Chaplet developed the technique around 1871 when working at François Laurin’s pottery in Bourg-la-Reine, outside of Paris. His invention caught the eye of Charles Haviland, owner of Haviland & Co., who bought the secrets to Chaplet’s process in 1874 for the then-stunning sum of 10,000 francs.

Just one year later, Chaplet moved to Haviland’s studio in Auteuil, a borough of Paris. There, he assisted in perfecting the technique, and Haviland’s barbotine wares were publicly exhibited at the 1876 Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia followed by the Paris Salon the next year. Collectors and critics alike were taken with the bold, painterly ceramics, and it was not long before its popularity spread across France and the United States, where Hugh C. Robertson, Charles Volkmar, and Mary Louise McLaughlin pioneered their own barbotine creations, Volkmar having learned from French potters and Robertson and McLaughlin through their own experimentation. By the early 1880s, French barbotine wares had influenced an entirely new style in the United States, erroneously named “American Limoges” after Haviland’s principal factory in Limoges, although the firm only produced such work in Auteuil. 

Ralph (1920 - 2008) and Terry (b. 1928) Kovels' influence on the world of collecting is incalculable and their accomplishments innumerable. The couple married in 1950 and wrote their first book together, now titled Kovels' Dictionary of Marks: Pottery and Porcelain, 1650-1850, in 1953. In 1986, they released a new book, Kovels' New Dictionary of Marks: Pottery and Porcelain, 1850 to the Present. As the definitive source for collectibles and values, the Kovels are renowned for their eye for antiques, art, and design.

When the Kovels began their collecting journey they were complete neophytes. Terry remarked in an interview: "In the beginning, we were always doing it together. He was a super salesman and I was a good researcher... So it was fun for me. We found subjects that no one else was doing." They learned by looking, researching, and collecting. The success of their first book led Ralph to pitch a column on antiques and collectibles to the Cleveland Press, "Know Your Antiques," which became the longest-running syndicated column in the country. Their secret, as Terry has said, was making it approachable: "We always include definitions on the things we don't know. We make it easy for people to understand what we are writing about." For perhaps the first time, at least in the United States, antiques and collecting were made accessible to the masses.

The Kovels were also incredibly diversified in their interests, collecting everything from banana stickers and textiles to furniture and American art pottery; as Ralph used to say when asked why he only collects: “If we own it, it’s priceless.” Over the decades that followed the publication of their first book their business developed into a multi-million-dollar enterprise. They wrote over 100 books, one of which, the Kovels' Antiques & Collectibles Price Guide, has sold over four million copies and is considered one of the bibles of the field. They have been consulted numerous times for their expertise in court cases and various newspapers; wrote the "Collectibles" entry for the Encyclopedia Britannica; appeared on talk shows and starred in three TV series, “Know Your Antiques” for PBS, “Flea Market Finds with the Kovels” for HGTV, and "Collector's Journal with Ralph and Terry Kovel" for the Discovery Channel; and won two Emmy Awards. Their eponymous website, Kovels.com, was created in 1998 and to this day remains a priceless resource for collectors worldwide where one can check over 1,000,000 prices.

Terry remarked recently: "Building a great collection takes a lot of time, extensive knowledge and some luck, too. I am thrilled to pass our legacy of great finds onto the next generation of passionate antiques collectors." It is with great pride that Rago and Toomey & Co. offer a selection of Ralph and Terry's impressive collection here.