Lady head vases were made primarily in Japan and were popular in America from the late 1940s through the early ’70’s. These ceramic vases were used in florists’ flower arrangements.
There were dozens of manufacturers and thousands of different kinds of vases. As a result, you’ll find them at flea markets and yard sales, antiques malls, and auctions for lady head vases including on eBay.
Makers include Napco, Enesco, Rubens and Betty Lou Nichols, whose marks make good identifiers, but unfortunately not all vases have them. One good way to identify quality vases is to look for flourishes such as necklaces and dangling earrings. These should have a patina about them, and not look new and shiny.
Prices vary, and you can find a nice vase for $15, but expect to pay more like $50 for a lady head vase in good condition. Some sell for as much as $1,500.
Make Sure Your Lady Head Vase is Not a Reproduction
If you are looking for a vintage lady head vase, make sure the one you’re thinking about buying is a genuine vintage vase and not a poorly made imported headvase being sold as old or vintage.
There are a lot of imported reproduction lady head vases being sold as vintage. Fortunately, these fakes are often easy to spot. Genuine vintage head vases are beautiful, with finely painted delicate features. They have thick eyelashes and beautiful skin tones. Some have feathers, earrings, or other jewelry details.
On the other hand, the imported lady head vases are rather unattractive, with poorly painted or skimpy details and lacking the lovely colors used in authentic vintage head vases.
To protect yourself, go to the library, find a book on lady head vases, and compare the vase you want to buy with the genuine headvase in the book. Compare the number if there is one.
Once you study the older pieces, you’ll learn to recognize the small details that separate the quickly produced, cheap reproductions from the older vintage lady head vases.
You want to treasure your collectible vintage lady head vase for years to come!
Some good resources are the Head Vase Museum and Antique Head Vases.
Article reprinted from Lady Head Vases.
