Availability Rating

Below is a list of categories developed to assist in ranking the availability of a given piece. This rating will serve as a benchmark for new collectors and dealers to assist them in determining how common or rare a piece may be, ie A – Common Production Piece versus D – Rare Production Piece. Not all items fall neatly into one of these defined groups. For those pieces I have assigned a hyphenated rating that spans two groups. For example, the #511 Gonder Imperial Modern Swan Vase has been given an A-B rating. Please note, these are high level guidelines and your collecting experience may differ.

Also, I have observed that when rare items come to market and sell for a good price (such as on eBay), it will often spark an interest from dealers who will then list the same item hoping it will also produce a good sale. We may go months or years without seeing a particular item, and then see several of them listed and/or sold in quick succession. In my opinion, that doesn’t change the availability of the item, it just brings them to market at nearly the same time. Once the flurry of activity has ceased, it may be months or years before we see that item again!

A - Common Production Piece – Best availability in market place. Most easily located pieces and found in nearly all glaze treatments. Most pieces from Gonder Standard E and H series fall into this category. Examples:

E-3 Gonder Standard Vase
E-12 Gonder Standard Bowl
H-73 Gonder Standard Ewer
J-60 Gonder Standard Vase
#508 Gonder Imperial Large Sea Shell Ewer
#519 Gonder Imperial Figure

B - Production Piece – Available in market place. More rare and difficult to find in premium glazes. Many pieces from Gonder Standard J and M series fall into this category. Also in this category many Gonder Imperial and Gonder Original pieces. Examples:

J-54 Gonder Standard Ewer with Lizard Handle
M-9 Gonder Standard Large Ewer
#215 Gonder Original Round Vase with Gazelle
#500 Gonder Imperial Shell and Starfish Bowl
#217 Gonder Original Large Reclining Panther
#525 Gonder Standard Gamecock Figure

C - Hard to Find Production Piece – Limited availability in market place. Difficult to find in any glaze treatment. Examples:

#211 Gonder Original Grecian Horse Bookends
#403 Gonder Original Modern Abstract 3 Hole Planter
#521 Gonder Imperial Modern Cat
#525 Gonder Imperial Game Hen Figure
#531 Gonder Imperial Chinese Bottle Vase
#541 Gonder Imperial Chinese Coolie Head

D - Rare Production Piece – Extremely limited availability in market place. Extremely difficult to find in any glaze treatment.

#108 Gonder Original Modern Elephant
#113 Gonder Original Jonah and the Whale Ashtray
#231-#234 Gonder Original African Mask Wall Plaques
#501 Gonder Imperial Starfish Candleholders
#559 Gonder Imperial Cuspidor Vase
#950 Gonder Original Sheriff Cookie Jar

E - Scarce Production Piece – The most limited of all pieces. Few examples known to exist.

#221 Gonder Original Mermaid Console Bowl
#586 Gonder Original Large Giraffe Head Figure
#762 Gonder Ceramic Arts Topless Polynesian Woman with Basket
#800 Gonder Original Wild Mustang Planter
#1000 Gonder Original St Francis Figure and Bird Bath
Gonder Original Pan and Nude Maiden Figure or Planter

F – Experimental - Experimental (non production) Pieces, Production Pieces with Experimental Glazes, End of Day Pieces. Production Pieces made as gifts by Lawton Gonder.

Frog Figure
Three Stork and J-64 Vase
Solid Gold Glazed Figures
Pink with White Spongeware Glaze