ANTIQUES – The Short Happy Life of Ceramic Art Studio

Sometimes, companies that were only in business for a short time can make a big splash when they finally emerge onto the antiques market.
Lately, some smart antiquers have been buying up the wonderful creations of the Ceramic Arts Studio of Madison Wisconsin, which was only in operation for 14 years from1941 to1955.
Founded by Lawrence Rabbit and Ruben Sand, CAS, as collectors call it, capitalized on the lack of ceramic imports from Europe and Japan during World War II.
They specialized in human-form figurines and some figural accessories like planters, vases, wall pockets and wall plaques, mostly in ceramic but also in metals.
Designed by a talented group of female artists, including Betty Harrington, Ulli Rebus, Ruth Planter and Zona Liberace (mother of the famous pianist), CAS figures were expensive in their day.
They were sold mostly in jewelry store and high-end department stores, retailing at $10 to $15, a princely sum in the wartime and post-war era.
Figurines can be very telling about a time. They represent the kind of personalities, dress, poses and attitudes that fascinate a generation. CAS designers had obviously tapped into the upper middle class taste of the day, with kinds of shapes, styles and colors that would complement the interior design and furnishings of the most well-appointed homes of the mid-century era.
The high-style design of the post-war ’40s and ’50s can best be described as a softer and more fluid version of the more static and geometric Art Deco style. Some people even call it “Fifties Deco.” And the figurines that were most appropriate for this style were those that seemed to be in motion, or caught in mid-movement.
This is why CAS created so many figurines of dancers — ballet, kabuki, Balinese, Polynesian, South American — sometimes accompanied by their musicians.
Appraisals: “Zor and Zorina” (modern dancers), nine-inch wall plaques, $145, the pair; Head vase, African woman, $195; Violin lady figurine, 8-1/2-inches, $145; Lutist and Flutist figurines, 12-inches, $235 the pair; Kabuki dancing pair, $425 the pair; Minnehaha & Hiawatha salt and pepper shakers, $225 the pair; Peter Pan & Wendy figurines, $ 250 the pair.
About 80 percent of CAS is marked on the bottom with a black ink-stamp of the company’s name printed in a semi-circle with “Madison, Wisconsin” in another semi-circle under that. Sometimes the copyright “C” inside a circle will also appear.
The short, happy life of CAS is the stuff collectors’ dreams are made of – a limited production of high quality items that truly evoke of the time in which they were made.
Arthur Schwerdt, a certified appraiser, is the author of “The Antique Story Book: Finding the Real Value of Old things,” and co-owner of The August Farmhouse Antiques on Route 9 in Swainton. Send your comments, questions and appraisal requests to: aschwerdt@cmcherald.com