WK heart with arrow through pottery marking on Grandparents old ceramic lamp with glass and ceramic flowers

by MA Merritt
(Caledonia NY)

WK  heart with arrow through pottery marking

WK heart with arrow through pottery marking

As a young child I adored these lamps at my grandparent's house. They were kept in their bedroom and the grandchildren were not allowed in there. I would sneak in there, turn them on and just look at them. The heart with the arrow through it caught my attention at that time and was the only mark I remembered. I thought it stood for the two lovers who were sitting together.


My grandparents were born in Sicily and moved to the United States in the early 1900s. Their house was filled with beautiful brightly colored Italian and European glass, ceramic figurines, lamps and dishes. I would help my grandmother (Nana) clean these. She had a special dust cloth to clean them and that was the only way she would allow me to clean them. That is where my love for these items began.

My grandparents passed away when I was a teenager. And being a teenager, I had no interest in my grandparents beautiful colored Italian and European glass, ceramic figurines, lamps and dishes. The lamps and all the beautiful glass and ceramics disappeared. Later, when I left home and moved into an apartment of my own, I thought of these beautiful items and wished I had a couple of them.

I use to rent a small space in an antique co-op and specialized in glass/ceramics. I would find myself being attracted to all the beautiful brightly colored Italian and European glass and ceramics and again started remembering my grandparents', especially those lamps. I started to search for lamps similar to them. I would travel all over western New York to auctions and estate sales hoping to find lamps or glass similar to my grandparents. While I did
find a lot of beautiful brightly colored Italian and European glass and lamps, I never came across lamps like those with a mark of a heart with an arrow through it, as at that time that was all I could remember about those lamps and its mark. I did a lot of research and purchased many books including Kovel's book of marks. But never came across any mark of a heart with an arrow through it.

Recently I had to clean out my parents’ house and was thrilled to find the lamps packed away. My mother told me that my father, who passed away 15 years ago, knew I loved them and kept them for me, but with time, had forgotten about them. I still have not cleaned off the dust for fear that I would ruin them. Now that I have the complete mark I really started my search. I have gone through all my books and have done numerous searches online with several different search engines. I did find a lamp on Ebay that was labeled lighted vintage Venetian glass flower lamp, but there was no mark shown. This is the first time that I have been unable to identify a mark and am frustrated with that. My grandparents were simple middle class blue color workers and I cannot imagine that they would have anything that was priceless or out of the ordinary in their possession.

Once I find out the maker I would love to have the lamps restored, valued, and if necessary insured. It would be greatly appreciated if you could please help me find who made these beautiful lamps. I would also be interested in buying other pieces from this maker.

Thanks,
MA Merritt



Comments for WK heart with arrow through pottery marking on Grandparents old ceramic lamp with glass and ceramic flowers

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Could this be a hitherto unrecorded mark of Weiss Kuhnert
by: Peter (admin)

Dear Mary Anne

May I say a heart felt thanks for such a beautifully written family recollection. It is just this type of post which puts this website above others. Thank you!

I will do my best to answer, but it is only guess work at the moment....

Let's hope this thread develops to a solution as so many other have done over the years.

Weiss Kuhnert were established in Grafenthal, Thuringia, Germany in 1891 and used a crossed lines pottery mark from 1956 to 1971 (see photo below and also there is a separate thread on Weiss Kuhnert). I think the two markings have distinct similarities.


Weiss Kuhnert

However, your mark is not recorded as being one of their marks, but who knows what went on behind the iron curtain in those years (they were in the GDR East Germany sector).

If anyone has further information, please post.

Peter (admin)

Wk glass flowers
by: Garrett

I am cleaning out my grandmothers home and she has roughly 30 of these lighted glass flowers. 10 or so have the WK label on the base and another 10 have very similar shaped and colored bases without the WK mark. I have researched them too and have been unable to find anything. My grandma said they were Czechoslovakian but I can't prove that. I'm in Southern California and am looking to sell them if you are interested.

THIS IS THE ANSWER FOLKS!

by: Rex Butler

Your lamp was made by Richard Singer and Sons out of Canada. They purchased pottery planters from various companies and made them into lamps.

The base of your lamp is a shape made by Fredericksburk Art Pottery Company (FAPCO) and Cameron Clay Products. Both of these companies have Facebook pages.

Regards

Rex

I have one of these!
by: Sharon

The photo of the pink pottery planter with the Victorian couple on the front is exactly like the one in my hand! It has the WK with a heart with arrow between the letters. I would love to know more about the markings!

Huge thanks to Rex Butler (see his post above)
by: Peter (admin)

Hi Rex

Thanks for your contribution in solving this mystery and kindness in gently guiding us.

Best regards

Peter (admin)

Green color NEW
by: Anonymous

Rabies

Pink planter with man and woman sitting on a bench like the first picture with the W, a heart with an arrow thru it and a K NEW
by: Anonymous

Does it have any value to it?

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