How do you identify Rookwood Pottery?
Marks. One advantage of collecting Rookwood is that it’s easy to date by examining the mark incised on the bottom of each piece. In 1886, the company began using a reverse RP logo. A flame was added around the logo each year to mark the date the piece was produced.
What is an artist’s cipher?
The term ‘cypher’ also known as ‘cipher’ has a number of meanings. A cypher is a message written in a secret code, much like how Jean-Michel Basquiat used isolated text and abstract figures in his paintings as a way of communicating a message to the viewer. A cypher can also mean a person of no influence or meaning.
How is Roseville Pottery marked?
To find a mark on your Roseville pottery, simply turn the piece upside down. The mark will be on the underside of the item in the unglazed portion of the bottom. Look for a series of letters or numbers. Some pieces feature raised marks, while others have imprinted marks.
Is Rookwood pottery still in business?
Rookwood Pottery is an American ceramics company that was founded in 1880 and closed in 1967, before being revived in 2004. It was initially located in the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood in Cincinnati, Ohio, and has now returned there.
What does the Rookwood mark on this pottery mean?
The Rookwood mark shown indicates this piece was decorated by Earl Menzel in 1951. Menzel decorated Rookwood Pottery from 1896 through the early 1950s using “REM” (backward R joined with E and M) as his artist’s cipher. His pieces generally well-regarded and tend to hold average interest with collectors in comparison to other Rookwood artists.
Who is the founder of Rookwood Pottery?
Storer began Rookwood Pottery, named after her family’s country estate, in a renovated schoolhouse. Storer was an accomplished artist and wanted her pottery to be both beautiful and useful, so she experimented with many glazes and production techniques.
How do I identify Rookwood art?
Artist decorated pieces often have the initials or name, known as an artist’s cipher, incised or printed on the bottom of the piece below or near the reverse RP mark. Pieces made by the most skilled of Rookwood artists are very desirable to collectors, so being able to identify them correctly is an advantage to both sellers and buyers.
Who made the first Rookwood vase?
In the beginning years of Rookwood, vases were mainly decorated by founder Maria Longworth Nichols Storer and other female artists. Storer and the other artists initially used ‘smear glaze’ on the pottery’s incised designs before concentrating on fellow artist Laura Fry’s novel method of colored ‘slip-decorated’ ware.