Rookwood Pottery Artists
Many beginning Rookwood Pottery collectors ask who are the most popular or desirable artists and how much of a price premium is placed on vases decorated by "sought-after" decorators versus "average" artists. While collector and market opinions will always vary, Anita Ellis' Rookwood Pottery - The Glaze Lines book provides a useful starting point for Rookwood pottery collectors.
Ellis' book provides a ranked Rookwood pottery decorator's list. The list divides Rookwood decorators into four catagories (A through D). Category A is Rookwood artists with the greatest collector interest. Ellis estimates that with other considerations such as condition, size, and quality being equal, a Rookwood vase decorated by an "A" level decorator may be valued 100 to 200% higher than a vase decorated by a "C" level artist. Rookwood pottery artists who Ellis ranks as "A" level include:
- Matthew Daly
- Henry Farny
- Maria Nichols
- Elizabeth Nourse
- Sara Sax
- Carl Schmidt
- Kataro Shirayamadani
- Maria Storer
- Albert Valentein
- Artus Van Briggle
Hello, I just received a rookwood statue. I believe it is Jesus. It is dated 1947 with the initials c z. I believe this is for Clotilda Zanetta per the mark book. What catagory does she fit into. The statue is in brown and Jesus has his hands across his chest and wearing a hood and long robe. All done in brown. Jim
Posted by: james miller | February 23, 2008 at 12:35 PM