MP might purchase a lovely piece of late 19th century pottery, which looks quite modern. It could have been potted yesterday. She found it for sale at Punch on State Street, originally from the Rookwood factory of Cincinnati. This studio-cum-factory was one of the rare industries founded, at that late Victorian era, by a female, Maria Longworth Nichols Storer. She hired female archivist and manger Clara Newton, and head decorator, Laura Anne Fry. In 1880 Maria named the factory Rookwood after her childhood estate in the Walnut Hills section of Cincinnati.
Diversity in Style
Not only did Maria hire females, she also welcomed foreigners. In 1887 she imported important Japanese ceramic artist Kitaro Shirayamadani. Kitaro worked in a growing fashion for Asian aesthetic. The Japanism trend incorporated a blends of modern-looking Japanese forms and swirling relief decoration on pots. Rookwood became so important to the Art Pottery Movement that Maria took her wares to the Exposition Universelle in Paris of 1889.
Look at MP’s pot and you see the wares special color palette: greys and sage green, accents in pinks and reds. Artists then overglazed the basis color scheme with a yellow tinted high gloss glaze. The art world then discovered ceramics to emphasize interior accents, and collectors consider Rookwood one of the best. You can find such pieces going unknown in thrift stores. Although they date from the 19th century, they look very contemporary.
Fans of the American Arts and Crafts era collect Rookwood, especially the series of noble Native American portraits. The simplicity of forms and the earthy colors work boastfully well in a Craftsman bungalow, wood paneled, in a cozy interior. My favorite Rookwood is always wildflowers painted in a Nouveau style upon a dark glaze. One of the great roles of Arts and Crafts pottery appeared in architectural. I’ve seen a few Rookwood tiled fireplaces in Santa Barbara. But we see the majority of Rookwood tiles in the Midwest, and many major Cincinnati buildings of the era feature incredible tile designs by Rookwood.
Hundreds of fine male and female artists
For over 80 years the Rookwood Factory remained home to hundreds of fine male and female artists. One of the most well-known was the team of Albert Robert Valentien and his wife Anna Marie, who ended up living in California. Like many of the Rookwood artists, they trained at The Art Academy of Cincinnati, a major center for art in the late 19th century.
By 1920’s the Rookwood factory became a Mecca for tourists. My grandmother partook in ceramic factory tourism in the 1920’s. It became fashionable to drive, take a tour, and buy a piece for a souvenir, which Grandmother Ruth did on her honeymoon. This kind of tourism resulted from a merger between the Ford automobile, the forming highway system, and art tourism.
Rookwood factory history includes interesting owners
Over the Great Depression the company faltered, and moved to Mississippi. By 1982 an overseas firm offered to purchase this American icon. Now the story becomes heroic. A Midwest dentist, a lifetime Rookwood collector, spent every last penny to purchase Rookwood, and he became a ceramist to keep up the trademarks. The dentist joined with Cincinnati investors to bring Rookwood back to Cincinnati in 2004. By 2006 Rookwood acquired the original owner’s 2000 original molds and Maria’s secret recipes for glazes.
The company lately changed hands to a female leader and a lover of Cincinnati. Marilyn and Martin Wade bought Rookwood in 2011 and opened it again in the “Over-the Rhine” area of Cincinnati. Successfully the studio helped thousands of owners of Rookwood tiled fireplaces restore their damaged tiles.
MP I suspect the Valentien partnership designed your pot, because Albert served as art director under Maria for 20 years. If I’m right your piece should be worth $800- 1,000 at auction, especially at a Craftsman related auction house such as David Rago in Lambertville, New Jersey. I suggest, MP, you purchase this piece as this one has a larger size than I usually see, typically called a Jardinière.