Woman hopes antique earns nod of approval

That little Seattle Mariners bobble-head on your desk or the swaying hula dancer on the dashboard are just newcomers compared to Victorian era “nodders.”

Nodders were small porcelain figures whose head moved and nodded. The earliest pieces were made in china.

Janet Boehme, of Spokane, is one of the lucky Antiques Roadshow ticketholders. And one of the treasures she’s taking is a nodder.

“My nodder is a late 19th century German barmaid with adorable rosy cheeks,” Boehme wrote me. “The mark on the inside looks like it could be Meissen, also known as Dresden, the first porcelain producer in Europe. That’s what I want to find out at the Antiques Road Show.”

Boehme inherited the nodder from her mother.

“My mother purchased three nodders over many years,” Boeme wrote. “So that each of her three children could have one.”

Boehme is looking forward to talking to one of the experts who will be evaluating items and getting some idea of the history and value of her piece.