'Antiques Roadshow' seller gasps in disbelief after expert revealed the value of her 1895 biscuit jar

It's not always paintings and vintage watches that get a high valuation on “Antiques Roadshow.” Sometimes, the most mundane-looking things could turn out to have historical significance that makes them precious. That was the case with a biscuit jar brought to an earlier episode of the show, which had a number of artistic elements associated with it.

The woman who brought it said that it was a gift from a dear friend, and based on its appearance, she believed that it was manufactured in England, but the bottom of the jar had the word ‘Napoli’ inscribed on it, which was in Italy. It turns out that neither of those countries was where this jar was created, and its origins were in the United States.

Popular expert Arlie Sulka revealed the interesting history behind the object. She mentioned that the jar was made by a company named Mount Washington, which made different kinds of glasses, and Napoli was a kind of glass that they used for this particular biscuit jar. The expert was confused about the item’s origin at first as well, but when she lifted the lid and saw the letters MW underneath it, all the speculation was laid to rest.

Mount Washington was a company that was founded in the year 1837 in South Boston, Massachusetts, and by 1870, it was moved to New Bedford, Massachusetts. Among the most striking elements of the jar were several paintings on its surface. The expert revealed that these were illustrations made by legendary Canadian author and illustrator Palmer Cox, who wrote the Brownies series. The characters painted on the glass were from that series.

Sulka also revealed that Mount Washington had merged with Pairpoint Glass in 1894, and the new company saw the opportunity to make such jars, which came with intricate glasswork and sturdy metalwork. She also revealed that Napoli glass was only made from 1894 to 1896 and that the piece on the table was made by none other than Albert Steffin, who was the head of Mount Washington at the time. The most impressive part about the item, however, were the paintings, much like other Mount Washington products.

“What’s so interesting is, you see the painted figures on the outside, but those are painted on the interior. It’s not on the surface so you can only imagine how difficult it must have been. And then you have this beautiful gilt webbing, which is typical, and there are some pinched areas. It has a nice handle with a tied twig design,” Surla explained.

It was then time for the appraisal of the product. “In terms of value, something like this at an auction could easily bring between $4,000 and $6,000,” the expert said. The guest gasped after hearing this. “Oh my word. I had no idea. That’s great,” she said as she took another look at the biscuit jar with a huge smile on her face.