Q: The chair seen in this photo is painted green and has a floral stencil on the back. My grandmother, who was born in 1872, said her mother used to sit on it to diaper and dress all of her 13 children. My grandmother was the youngest of the 13, so this chair is very old. It is in very good condition.

I have no plans to sell it, but I am curious about its age, origin and value.

A: You have a Victorian spindle-back side chair. This type of chair was often sold in sets of six. The green paint, stenciled top rail, wood plank seat, turned, splayed legs and spindle back have characteristics of both Windsor chairs and Hitchcock chairs. Your chair was made in the United States in the mid-1800s.

Its value would probably be $125 to $175.

Q: This mark is on the bottom of a porcelain figurine that I have. She stands about 8 inches tall and is wearing a long, ruffled white dress with a pale-pink bodice, a bonnet and black shoes. Her gown is decorated with pastel flowers, and the scrolled base she is standing on is decorated with tiny flowers and gold. A friend told me my figurine is Dresden and it might be very old and worth quite a bit of money.

I don't know anything about the history of my figurine. I would never part with it but would like to know if it is an antique, who made it and if it has any value.

A: Even though the mark on your figurine includes the name Dresden, it is not an example of Dresden porcelain. The term refers to porcelain that was made by the Royal Saxon Porcelain Factory in Dresden, Germany, in the early 1700s. The factory was relocated to Meissen, Germany, in 1711. Your Dresden-type figurine was made by the Sandizell Porcelain Factory in Sandizell, Bavaria, Germany. It went into business in 1951 and closed in 2008. According to the United States government, an object must be at least 100 years old. Your figurine is less than 100 years old and doesn't qualify as an antique. Having said that, it is a beautiful collectible and might be worth $50 to $75.

Spindle-back chair was probably originally part of a set of six.

Sandizell Porcelain Company was located in Bavaria.

Address your questions to Anne McCollam, P. O. Box 247, Notre Dame, IN 46556. Items of a general interest will be answered in this column. Due to the volume of inquiries, she cannot answer individual letters. To find out more about Anne McCollam and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.