Q. I have a set of George Briard dishes that are labelled “An Authentic 1825 Reproduction” that I inherited from my aunt. It consists of eight place settings which includes dinner plates, luncheon plates, soup bowls, dessert plates and some serving pieces. Could you tell me anything about it?

A. George Briard ( 1917-2005) was a commercial artist and designer of housewares. His designs were highly geometric with many featuring birds, flowers and abstract designs; many with 22 karat gold. His dishes, glasses and toleware trays were most popular from the 1950’s -1970’s and are now considered “mid-century” classics. They were sold by department stores including Neiman Marcus and Bonwit Teller. Briard also designed the Heritage dinnerware shape for Pfaltzgraff.

The most popular patterns include; Persian Garden, Seascape, Sonata, Coq D’or, Forbidden Fruit (apple motif), Yule Tide (Christmas tree motif), Woodland Melody (bird motif), Fancy Free (hot air balloon motif), and Ambrosia (pineapple motif). The value of Georges Briard pieces depends entirely on the object, pattern and condition. Signed pieces are sought-after by collectors, particularly in the rarer patterns such as Fancy Free but are all very affordable.

Because Briard’s pieces were so popular, there is plenty in the marketplace. You neglected to send me a picture so I cannot identify your pattern. There were several that were reproductions of Japanese patterns from circa 1825. Shown is one called “Peony”.

Karen Waterman is a fine art, antique furniture and decorative arts appraiser in the East Bay area and will answer as many questions regarding your “hidden treasures” as possible. By sending an email with a question you give full permission for use in the column. Names, addresses or e-mail will not be published and photos will be returned if requested. Send e-mails (digital photos preferred ) to watermanappraisal@gmail.com. Send snail mail to Waterman Appraisal and Consulting Services, P.O. Box 134, Barrington, RI 02806.