Sascha Brastoff Dinnerware Value

Q :        I am thinking about selling a set of Sascha Brastoff dishes. The dishes are pink and gold and include service for eight. I think the dishes date from 1949. What is the set worth?

A :     Sascha Brastoff (1918-1993), born Samuel Brostofsky, was raised in Cleveland but moved to New York City when he was 17. After serving in the armed forces during World War II, he settled in Los Angeles and worked as a costume designer for 20th Century Fox before starting his own small ceramic business in 1947. His company, Sascha Brastoff Products, opened in 1952. Brastoff’s earliest china and earthenware dinner services date from 1954, so your set is not as old as you think. His best-known pink and gold pattern is “Surf Ballet.” Check the mark on the bottom of your dishes; it can help determine when they were made. Brastoff’s earliest mark was his first name, hand-painted. When a new Brastoff factory opened in 1953, a stamped mark was used that includes a rooster and Brastoff’s full name. After 1963, the year Brastoff retired, the circled-R registration number was added to the mark. An early complete set of Sascha Brastoff dishes could sell for several hundred dollars.