Q: I have two small tusks or teeth which are engraved with pictures of sailing ships. One has the name of a captain on it, and the date 1862-70. What is their value? Mr T

A. Very hard to say, for the vast majority of these items which turn up around the antiques trade are fakes, replicas made in the past 20 to 30 years.

Originals -- which are called scrimshaws -- are real whale's teeth, engraved by sailors on 19th century whaling ships with knives and needles, and genuine examples can fetch hundreds of pounds each.

The replicas, which are made of resin, look so convincing even experts have been fooled, and are worth very little, usually about £25 each.

If you want to check for authenticity, just heat up a needle and try to push it into the item. A real tooth will be unharmed, but a fake will start to melt!

Q: I have a pottery bowl in quite gaudy colours, yellow, green and brown, and a picture of fruits on the inside. On the base is a mark showing a castle and the name New Hall, Hanley. I have checked in a book and there was a firm called New Hall in the early 19th century, but the mark is different. Can you help? Mrs S

A. The original New Hall pottery closed in the 1830s, but the name was revived by another company between 1900 and 1956. This firm was based in the old New Hall works (hence taking the same name) in Hanley, Staffs.

The mark you sketch was used only between 1930 and 1951, and the design and pattern of the item you describe suggests it dates from the 1930-1940 period.

Value is modest, as while the original New Hall from the 19th century is quite collected, the wares of the later firm are less so. Value would be £25 to £35.

Q: Do you have any information about a print I have? It shows a bride and groom being driven away in a horse a carriage, and it is in lovely colours. It is dated 1896 and is by S E Waller. Mrs N

A. Samuel Edmund Waller was a very successful Victorian artist, who died in 1903. He specialised in painting animals, though he did other subjects too.

His exhibited works at the Royal Academy and some of his paintings are in the Tate Gallery in London. While original Waller paintings are worth thousands of pounds, prints of his work are very common and worth comparatively little.

The example you describe would be worth perhaps £40 to £60 if in a period frame.