This charger was made by the famous German ceramic company Mettlach in the Jugendstil of the early 20th century. If you think it looks like art nouveau, that’s because it is.

With its soft colors, flower motifs and asymmetrical twining lines, this ceramic charger, made circa 1900, fits right into the art nouveau movement. However, when it sold for $2,500 at Auctions at Showplace, it was described as “Jugendstil.” German for “young style,” named after the journal Die Jugend, it is the German term for what we call art nouveau.

The style, a precursor to modernism, spread throughout Europe with art galleries like the eponymous L’Art Nouveau, opened by German-born Siegfried Bing in Paris; exhibitions, especially the 1900 Exposition Universelle and, above all, graphic design and illustrations in popular books and periodicals. The movement intended to break down the barriers between fine and decorative arts. It certainly transcended national borders, known as “Art belle epoque” or “Art fin de siecle” in France, “Art nuova” or “Stile floreale” in Italy, “Stil’ modern” in Russia, “Sezessionstil” in Austria and Hungary, “Style nouille” in Belgium and “Modernista” in Spain.

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Q: I have some unusual Disney items from my grandmother’s house. They are round, flat pieces either 3 or 7 inches in diameter with character faces on the front. The reverse says, “Exclusive designs of Walt Disney Characters / Made Expressly For Geo. Borgfeldt Corporation 44-60 East 23rd Street, New York.” I don’t know what they are. Can you help?

A: George Borgfeldt & Co. was an importer and distributor in New York City that operated from 1881 to 1962. In 1930, they were granted the first license to sell Disney merchandise. This included toys, figurines, decorations and children’s dishes. The company sourced them from manufacturers in the U.S., Europe and Japan. Your items may be toys or decorative plates. Disney items marked for George Borgfeldt can be worth hundreds of dollars today. For more information on Disney toys and their prices, the Official Price Guide to Disney Collectibles by Ted Hake (Gemstone, New York, 2005) is an excellent source.

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CURRENT PRICES

Current prices are recorded from antiques shows, flea markets, sales and auctions throughout the United States. Prices vary in different locations because of local economic conditions.

Quilt, patchwork, eight-point star, multicolor, feed sack fabric, peach printed backing, 1930s, 84 x 59 inches, $60.

Coverlet, jacquard, flowers, red bands alternate with ecru and blue, three bird borders, fringe, later top binding, signed, dated, F. Becker, 1839, 100 x 85 inches, $95.

Hawkes, vase, cane panels alternate with frosted flowers, diamond ground, scalloped rim, signed, 10 inches, $120.

Clothing, shoes, moccasins, beaded, red, blue, yellow, green, black and white border, reinforced toe, soft soles, First Nations, mid-1900s, 4 1/2 x 11 inches, men’s, $125.

Print, Wyeth, N.C. Map of Discovery, Eastern Hemisphere, Western Hemisphere, celestial and mythological figures in corners, colored, National Geographic, 1928, 16 1/2 x 18 1/2 inches, $165.

Folk art, whirligig, circus, canopy with pennant, two clowns, merry-go-round with four figures, two side propellers with figures, standing elephant, front propeller, red, white and blue, 56 x 33 x 28 inches, $295.

Lamp base, electric, figural, parrot, perching on stand, onyx ball, holds cage in beak, painted, green and yellow, cast iron, 15 inches, $440.

Stoneware, water cooler, lid, Ice Water, Gothic lettering, cobalt blue, gray ground, allover raised flowers, spigot, salesman’s sample, 1 gallon, 11 1/2 inches, $445.

Furniture, cupboard, pine, painted, blue, red trim, two flower panels on door, monogram, dated, 1813, 19th century, 69 x 41 x 18 inches, $500.