Help Identifying A Mystery Piece of Pottery

A good friend sent the vase shown in the photos asking for our help in identifying the maker.  When he sent it to us, he thought it was Hampshire Pottery which I know it isn't. 

Unfortunately I have no idea who made the piece.  I was thinking it may  be an European pot but that is a guess on my part.  I suspect one of our knowledgable readers will be able to positively identify the maker of this attractive arts and crafts style vase.  I would appreciate your assistance on this one!

Greg Myroth

Anniversary Gifts for Pottery Lovers

Summer is wedding season, and that means many of us will be celebrating wedding anniversaries in the coming months.  No matter what month your anniversary is, though, it's never easy to find just the right gift.  You want something unique, but not odd.  Original, but not useless.  And, of course, it has to be romantic.

The obvious answer is flowers.  Flowers have long been the ultimate expression of love and affection.  In fact, they've been an anniversary icon for so long that they've become a little predictable...unless you think outside the box.  Flowers in a vase are nice, but flowers on a vase are even better.   

Art pottery is inspired by nature, and many of the decorative themes are floral.  Your local florist may not have a fresh supply of clematis on hand to help you celebrate your 8th wedding anniversary, but you can easily find a Roseville Pottery piece that is beautifully decorated with this versatile flower.  Or how about an iris decorated piece by Rookwood Pottery for your 25th?  From Weller's nasturtium designs to McCoy's white lily bud vases, there is an art pottery piece for every anniversary.

Here's a list of traditional anniversary flowers, just in case you don't have them memorized.

• 1st Wedding Anniversary - Pansy
• 2nd Wedding Anniversary - Cosmos
• 3rd Wedding Anniversary - Fuchsia
• 4th Wedding Anniversary - Geranium
• 5th Wedding Anniversary - Daisy
• 6th Wedding Anniversary - Calla Lily
• 7th Wedding Anniversary - Jack-in-the-Pulpit
• 8th Wedding Anniversary - Clematis
• 9th Wedding Anniversary - Poppy
• 10th Wedding Anniversary - Daffodil
• 11th Wedding Anniversary - Morning Glory
• 12th Wedding Anniversary - Peony
• 13th Wedding Anniversary - Hollyhock
• 14th Wedding Anniversary - Dahlia
• 15th Wedding Anniversary - Rose
• 20th Wedding Anniversary - Day Lily
• 25th Wedding Anniversary - Iris
• 28th Wedding Anniversary - Orchid
• 30th Wedding Anniversary - Sweet Pea
• 40th Wedding Anniversary - Nasturtium
• 50th Wedding Anniversary - Violet

For extra brownie points, try placing an arrangement of anniversary flowers in an arts and crafts vase decorated with the same theme.   A Weller Eocean vase brimming with pansies.  A Roseville Pottery basket full of cosmos.  There's no better way to say I Love You!

Just Art Pottery

Ohio Art Pottery

You can't study art pottery very long without noticing that many of the great American potteries were in Ohio.  Roseville, McCoy, Hull, and Weller are some of the better known names that came from this region.  Between about 1840 and 1967, Ohio was home to hundreds of potteries, and most of them were located in one of two areas in east Ohio.

East Liverpool, which is located in along the banks of the Ohio River, was known as the "Pottery Capital of the World" and "America's Crockery Capital."  The ceramics history of this area began in 1840 when an Englishman named James Bennett discovered that the clay along the Ohio's riverbanks was ideal for making yellow ware.  Homer Laughlin introduced white ware to the local companies in 1872, and it soon became as popular as the yellow ware.  Companies like Hall China, Homer Laughlin, American Limoges, and Standard Pottery produced over 50 percent of American ceramics between 1840 and 1930. 

The area around the towns of Roseville, Zanesville, and Crooksville was the other Ohio pottery hotspot.  This southeastern Ohio region is rich in clay, and its pottery history goes all the way back to the Native Americans.  When European settlers came to the area, they set up "bluebird" potteries in their backyards and sheds.  Naturally, there were entrepreneurs who saw the pottery's profit potential, and an industry was born.  McCoy, Weller, and Roseville were some of the first potteries to establish successful businesses in the area that would eventually be known as the "Pottery Belt" and "Clay Corridor." 

The World's Columbian Exposition, which was held in Chicago in 1893, introduced the Arts and Crafts movement to American potters and greatly influenced Ohio's pottery industry.  Potteries began creating art pottery in addition to the utilitarian jugs and crocks they had been producing.  After the turn of the century, the art pottery business was booming, and Ohio was a leading producer.  Here are some of the better known pottery companies from the Roseville, Zanesville, and Crooksville Ohio areas.

• Brush-McCoy Pottery
• Burley Winter Pottery
• Gonder Pottery
• Hull Pottery Company
• Nelson McCoy Pottery
• Mosaic Tile Co.
• J.B. Owens Pottery
• Peters and Reed (Zane Pottery)
• Radford Pottery
• Robinson Ransbottom Pottery
• Roseville Pottery Company
• Shawnee Pottery
• Watt Pottery
• Weller Pottery
• Zanesville Art Pottery
• Zanesville Stoneware Company

Most of these companies closed at some point after WWII, when foreign competition entered the American market.  But Ohio remains true to its pottery roots and has many functioning potteries today.

Just Art Pottery

Art Pottery Museums to Visit this Summer

Summer is here, and that means many of us will be taking vacations.  If you're an art pottery collector, you might be interested in visiting a pottery exhibit during your trip.  Lucky for you, there are museums across the country with stunning art pottery on display.  There might just be one near your next vacation destination.

1. The National Ceramic Museum & Heritage Center - Roseville, Ohio

Located in the heart of "Pottery Country," this museum has a vast collection of Ohio pottery.  It's the best place to see Weller, Roseville, Brush, Brush-McCoy, Hull, McCoy, Zanesville, and much more all in one building.

2. The Charles Hosmer Morse Museum - Winter Park, Florida

This museum's main attraction is the extensive collection of works by Louis Comfort Tiffany, but their 11,000 square foot building is home to plenty of art pottery, too.  Visitors will find over 800 examples of American Art Pottery, including approximately 500 Rookwood pieces.  Arts and Crafts enthusiasts will also enjoy a furniture gallery that features Galle, Louis Majorelle, and Stickley.

3. Ohr-O'Keefe Museum of Art - Biloxi, Mississippi

Visit this museum and see over 250 works of art created by the "Mad Potter of Biloxi," George Ohr, as well as original documents, photographs, and other resource materials about Ohr and his family.  If you'll be closer to Texas than Mississippi this summer, you might catch the George Ohr Rising Traveling Exhibition at the San Angelo Museum of Art.

4. Cowan Pottery Museum - Rocky River, Ohio

Currently housed in the Rocky River Public Library, this museum has a collection of over 1,100 Cowan Pottery pieces.  There is only space to show 15-20% at one time, but the most important pieces are always on display.

5. Everson Museum of Art - Syracuse, New York

Everson boasts a collection of over 2,000 pieces of American Art Pottery.  Not only do they hold the largest collection of works by Syracuse native Adelaide Alsop Robineau, but they also have impressive displays of Rookwood, Fulper, Grueby, Tiffany, George Ohr, Newcomb and Marblehead.

6. Los Angeles Contemporary Museum of Art - Los Angeles, California

Among the diverse exhibits of this museum, you'll discover several collections of art pottery and other items from the Arts and Crafts movement.

7. Pewabic Pottery Museum and Education Center - Detroit, Michigan

If you're looking for a piece of living history, Pewabic is the perfect vacation activity for you.  This Arts and Crafts era pottery is now a non-profit museum and education center that was recently recognized by the National Trust for Historic Preservation as a "Historic Artists' Homes & Studios" site.

Please let us other great art pottery exhibits and museums that should be added to this list.

Just Art Pottery

Iowa Art Pottery Association

Our good friends from the Iowa Art Pottery Association have recently updated their website.  The Iowa Art Pottery Association (IAPA) is dedicated to the education, preservation, appreciation and acquisition of all ceramics both past and present.  IAPA began in August, 1999 when seventeen interested pottery collectors met to discuss the idea of a pottery club. The Association is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the aesthetic appreciation of art pottery.

Meetings are held in Wilton, Iowa which is geographically central to the Association's growing membership of pottery collectors. Members are encouraged to bring a favorite piece of pottery to the meetings for "show and tell". With education as a central focus of the IAPA, programs are presented by speakers who have in-depth knowledge about a particular pottery company or subject.  The Association also produces a quarterly newsletters which feature art pottery articles, insights and event updates.

Upcoming meetings will include discussions on the following topics: 

• August 3, 2008 - Art Pottery Dealer Signs and Advertising Pieces by Dave Johnson
• October 5, 2008 - Ephraim Pottery sponsored by Mark Latta

The Iowa Art Pottery Association welcomes new members who wish to learn about and engage in the enjoyment of art pottery. I can tell you from first hand experience there are some very knowledgeable pottery collectors (including a couple who really helped us when we were just getting started in the business!) involved in IAPA and if you ever have an opportunity to attend a meeting you will not only increase your knowledge of American art pottery but find great fun, fellowship and food!  I hear they have a GREAT potluck after each meeting.

Look here for more information on the Iowa Art Pottery Association.

Greg Myroth - Just Art Pottery

Just Art Pottery Site Upgrade

Most of you have probably already seen our recent site upgrade of justartpottery.com. For those of you who haven't visited us recently we invite you to check out our new design.  Below is a screen shot of the new site.  We hope you find the new design cleaner, more visually appealing and better organized.

 

  For comparison purposes, below is a snapshot of the old site. 

Now that this project is finally out of the way, I am hoping to begin resuming regular blog posts. 

We welcome your feedback and suggestions for future site improvements.

Greg Myroth - Just Art Pottery

Antiques Roadshow 2008 Schedule & Website Update

The PBS appraisal program Antiques Roadshow has announced its 2008 schedule.  Dates and locations for the remaining 15 new episodes include:

• January 28, February 4 & 11 in Orlando, Florida
• February 18, 25 and March 24 in San Antonio, Texas
• March 31, April 7 and 14 in Spokane Washington
• April 21, 28 and May 5 in Louisville, Kentucky
• May 12, 19 and 26 in Las Vegas, Nevada

The Roadshow has also updated its website and now includes features that are available only online. These include Roadshow Archive which will house every appraisal broadcast on the show and a variety of articles on antiques and collectibles.  While there isn't a whole lot on art pottery, I did come across interesting articles on North Dakota School of Mines Pottery and Overbeck Pottery. 

Greg Myroth - Just Art Pottery

Collect Antiques? - Every Collector Add A Collector

All of us have heard the complaints that there are too few new collectors entering the antiques and collectibles market.  I often hear the same concerns from fellow art pottery collectors and dealers. 

In an effort to attract new collectors, a group of antique dealers and trade members have started an initiative called "Every Collector Add a Collector."  The "Every Collector Add a Collector" initiative urges each one of us who already has in interest in antiques and collectibles to share their collector interest with friends, family and co-workers. 

I understand the group has assembled a color brochure that emphasizes the fun and affordable aspects of collecting antiques and encourages collectors to "mentor" someone who could become interested in collecting antiques.  This seems like an easy and inexpensive way for collectors, dealers, auctioneers, etc. to make sure we are attracting new people to the antiques and collectibles market. 

Greg Myroth - Just Art Pottery

Art as an Investment

My friend Rendy contacted me today to followup on our recent art pottery blog post on the effect of negative economic news on the price of antiques.  She referred me to a video clip of a report Fox News did today, December 12, 2007 on art becoming a popular investment option. 

In support of the idea that antiques and art in general and specifically art pottery may offer a good investment alternative to the stock market and real estate, the video clip discussed that there have been many record prices realized for art in recent years.  As wealth has increased so has the potential for risk and reward in the art market. 

The story reported that there is currently a lot of money flowing through the art market and that the market is not just strong but wide with lots of new collectors and investors.  Many of the art collectors and investors are not just buying contemporary art for decorating purposes but as a long-term investment. 

Just like any other investment, buying art is a risk but according to the video many segments of the art market have outperformed the S&P index over the last 10 years.  The video concludes by recommending that collectors and investors spend money on art that moves you; because as an investment it may or may not.  That's good advice for the art pottery collector or investor as well.

Greg Myroth - Just Art Pottery

Saturday Evening Girls - Paul Revere Pottery

The Saturday Evening Girls (SEG) club began in the 1890s as an educational and social group for young ladies. As a means for the SEG club to earn money to support their summer camps, Edith Brown and Edith Guerrier, with assistance from Helen Storrow, started Paul Revere Pottery around 1907. The pottery was well received and by 1911, twelve girls were working as full-time decorators with many more working part-time in other areas of the pottery. Paul Revere Pottery closed its doors in 1942.

Paul Revere Pottery made a variety of art pottery but the primary focus was utilitarian forms such as children's dishes and tiles. Popular motifs included chickens, rabbits, ducks, horses, ships, houses, trees, flowers and various landscape scenes. Paul Revere Pottery can often be found marked with either P.R.P. or S.E.G. along with a date and decorator’s initials.

SEG pottery often used and as such it is frequently found with wear and damage.  While chips and cracks will affect the value of SEG pottery, the impact of damage on price is typically less than that seen on other arts and crafts pottery.  A primary factor in determining the value of Saturday Evening Girls pottery is the quality and type of decoration on the pot.  SEG vases and bowls decorated with animals are typically among the highest valued pieces. 

To learn more about the history of Saturday Evening Girls and Paul Revere Pottery, and to see examples of the pottery be sure to check out the interactive exhibit by the Museum of Fine Art, Boston at the link below.

Art & Reform: Sara Galner, the Saturday Evening Girls, and the Paul Revere Pottery

An excellent reference book on the Saturday Evening Girls and Paul Revere pottery that includes many photos, pottery history, marks, signatures, and values is:

The Saturday Evening Girls: Paul Revere Pottery by Meg Chalmers and Judy Young.  Schiffer Publishing, 2005

Greg Myroth - Just Art Pottery