Question:
I have a Chef Pierre that we can’t figure out the color of. It is speckled teal to me. It is not green or blue. I was wondering what the true color name is and how rare and it’s estimated value. In 1987 my mom pd $1.25 at a rummage sale. It is engraved with Red Wing USA on the bottom and is in excellent condition except a tiny chip on the end of his toe less then a 1/4 in. long. I thank you for your time in advance. It will be the teal one in the pic. Debby

Answer: The speckled teal color is Fleck Nile Blue, which is an art pottery glaze. Chef Pierre was introduced in 1941 along with Friar Tuck and Katrina the Dutch Girl. All three were made in yellow, beige, blue and green. By the early 1950s the Friar and Katrina were discontinued but the Chef continued on until the mid-1950s. Toward the end of production several art pottery glazes were used including your Fleck Nile Blue as well as Fleck Nile Pink and a white glaze. Only a few jars in these colors were made and they are quite rare and valuable today. It’s difficult to put a value on these because so few sales occur to establish the market price. I’d estimate a Chef Pierre cookie jar with Fleck Nile Blue glaze would be worth $750 to $1000 in excellent, undamaged condition. The 1/4 inch chip will reduce the value somewhat, perhaps by as much as half. It depends on how visible the chip is when displayed and the tolerance of interested collectors of the damage. But the $1.25 your mother paid for it was quite a deal.

Larry