About Rookwood Art Pottery

Founded in 1880 by Maria Longworth Nichols, Rookwood pottery is a favorite of collectors for the quality of its pieces, which were hand-decorated by a diverse group of artists (though some simpler pieces were mass-produced, especially during the Depression).

Rookwood pieces were sold at the factory showroom and at jewelry and department stores nationwide. Drawing from European and Asian styles, the company was very involved with the Arts and Crafts and Art Nouveau movements, and its pieces are still prized as some of the best examples of those styles...

In addition to its signature vases, Rookwood also produced architectural tile and smaller items such as bookends, paperweights and figurines. There were between 20 and 25 artists decorating pieces at the Rookwood factory at any given time (some of the most notable included Kataro Shirayamadani, Albert Valentine, Sara Sax, and Jens Jensen).

Rookwood’s artists were innovative and helped change the way art pottery was created and designed. Kataro Shirayamadani covered the entire piece with decoration versus just the front as was previously done, and Laura Fry created the atomizer, allowing artists to evenly apply glazes and use color gradations. In the early 1900s, Rookwood began using matte finishes and vellum glaze, a translucent matte glaze.

Collectors should note that the vast majority of Rookwood pieces are very clearly marked. Very early pieces say “Rookwood,” and later pieces (starting in the mid-1880s) feature the Rookwood logo: a backwards R and P side-by-side. Rookwood closed its factory in the 1960s, but the copyright has been continuously enforced.

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Interviews & Articles

An Interview With Rookwood Art Pottery Collector Riley Humler

I don’t remember the first Rookwood piece I ever bought, that’s getting close to 40 years ago. But I must have like… [more]

Rookwood, Pioneer American Art Pottery

The Rookwood Pottery has gone to war. This pioneer among American art potteries, founded by Maria Longworth Storer … [more]

An Interview With Roycroft Arts and Crafts Metalwork Collector David Kornacki

I started collecting Roycroft around 1992 when I visited the Peter Roberts Gallery in New York City. That was sort … [more]

An Interview With Arts and Crafts Silver and Jewelry Collector Paul Somerson

How did I get started collecting Arts and Crafts silver? My wife and I had been collecting Arts and Crafts items as… [more]

An Interview With Gouda Pottery Collector Stuart Lonsdale

I think it all started with a small pottery vase my mother obtained from the art pottery shop where she worked in t… [more]

An Interview with Arts and Crafts Jewelry Collector and Author Elyse Karlin

I started collecting jewelry when I was about 13 years old. I was very close to an interior designer who took me to… [more]

An Interview With Cowan Art Pottery Museum Curator Carol Jacobs

I’m the curator here at the museum in Rocky River, a suburb west of Cleveland. I look at Cowan pottery from a histo… [more]

An Interview With Howard Coutts, Ceramics Curator Of The Bowes Museum

I’m the curator of the ceramics bit of the Bowes Museum. It’s a big museum with 30 galleries of which three or four… [more]

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LACMA Arts and Crafts

This microsite from the LA County Museum of Art provides a good overview of the Arts and Crafts movement in Europe … [read review or visit site]

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Clarice Cliff Collectors Club

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A good reference resource for anyone interested in the pottery of Clarice Cliff (1899-1972), who had her heyday in … [read review or visit site]

Potsherd

Potsherd

Paul Tyers' reference site on pottery and ceramics from the Roman period in Britain and Western Europe. Includes a … [read review or visit site]


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Rookwood Edward Diers 1904 Tall Vellum Milkweed Vase$461.50 Ends Tuesday 6 bids 34 watchers
Rookwood Pottery Egyptian Isis Polychrome Bookends $405.05 Ends in 2 hours 7 bids 41 watchers
Incredible, Rare Rookwood Claret Jug # 101a !!$405.00 Ends Tuesday 14 bids 13 watchers
1928 Rookwood Pottery Green Elephant Bookends Mint Pair$314.00 Ends in 7 hours 9 bids 52 watchers
Rookwood 1943 Nude Paperweight! Fabulous!$275.00 Ends Wednesday 1 bid 4 watchers
Rookwood Pottery Jens Jensen Xllv Magnolia Brown Beige $272.00 Ends in 5 hours 5 bids 19 watchers
1943 Rookwood Green Rook Bird Bookends Mint Pair$250.00 Ends in 7 hours 1 bid 19 watchers
1930 Rookwood Matte Glaze Vase Artist Signed-perfect $229.72 Ends in 5 hours 7 bids 15 watchers
Rookwood American Art Pottery Artist Signed$203.50 Ends Thursday 19 bids 9 watchers
Rookwood Pottery Great 1960 Vellum Art Deco Bowl $198.00 Ends in 20 hours 1 bid 13 watchers
1934 Rookwood Goose Paperweight$179.50 Ends in 6 hours 2 bids 14 watchers
Rookwood Pottery Xxxl Elizabeth Barrett Blue Black $177.50 Ends in 2 hours 6 bids 14 watchers
Rookwood Vase 1899 Standard Glaze By Clara Lindeman Nr$171.00 Ends in 7 hours 8 bids 25 watchers
Rookwood Pair Of Candlesticks Green 7 3/4 X 7 1/2$166.33 Ends Wednesday 2 bids 7 watchers
1906 Rookwood Vellum Pottery Vase W/ Dogwood Blossoms$159.50 Ends Sunday 5 bids 19 watchers
Rookwood Large 10" Mission Style Leaf Panel Vase Mint$153.50 Ends Sunday 6 bids 33 watchers
1933 Et Hurley Etching Print Of Artist, Rookwood$152.49 Ends in 16 hours 7 bids 15 watchers
Rookwood Two Handle Blue Vase 2815$149.95 Ends in 5 hours 1 bid 6 watchers
Rookwood Pottery Brown Mat & Cobalt Blue Vase 1924 Mint$137.50 Ends in 5 hours 11 bids 21 watchers
Rookwood Jewel Porcelain Baluster Vase, 1945 Buy it Now$135.50 Ends in 5 hours 2 bids 2 watchers
Rookwood Crackled Glaze Vase, 1946$120.00 Ends in 5 hours 13 bids 4 watchers
Rookwood Pottery E.t.hurleychristmasplate&etching Mtadm$112.60 Ends in 6 hours 11 bids 8 watchers
Kenton Hills Modernist Vase Ex Rookwood Artists$102.50 Ends Wednesday 11 bids 15 watchers
Rookwood Bowl Rabbits!!!!!!!!!!1919$100.00 Ends Saturday 1 bid 10 watchers
Rookwood Tile Trivet W/ Matte Glaze~very Nice!$99.00 Ends Saturday 1 bid 12 watchers
Rookwood Pottery Irridescent Yellow Vase 1915 Rare Mint$94.00 Ends in 5 hours 10 bids 33 watchers
1880's Rookwood Basket Planter Brown Ware Nature Bee Nr$74.99 Ends Thursday 1 bid 6 watchers
Rookwood Mini Art Vellum Vase ~signed Sallie Coyne~$67.00 Ends Tuesday 5 bids 17 watchers
Rookwood Elephant Paperweight Matt Blue Glaze 1945$62.55 Ends Sunday 7 bids 18 watchers
Art Deco Hanging Basket-roseville Art Pottery-mat Green$61.00 Ends in 16 hours 22 bids 36 watchers
Rookwood Vase Shape # 2109 Exc Cond!!$56.00 Ends in 6 hours 5 bids 11 watchers
Rookwood Pottery - Cream And Sugar$56.00 Ends in 2 hours 7 bids 4 watchers
1946 Rookwood Vase W/ Floral Decoration Estate Buy Nres$53.01 Ends in 6 hours 12 bids 21 watchers
Rookwood Shirayamadani 6084 Monkey Paperweight$51.00 Ends in 19 mins 4 bids 13 watchers
Rookwood Owl Bookend, C1945, Perfect Buy it Now$51.00 Ends in 5 hours 3 bids 10 watchers
Rookwood 1917 Tulip Vase Matte Green Pink$49.99 Ends Tuesday 1 bid 27 watchers
Beautiful Vintage Rookwood Rare 5" Brown Cat Tail Vase $47.45 Ends Monday 10 bids 10 watchers
Rookwood Art Pottery Vase 1821 Xix Unique Glaze L@@k!$46.00 Ends in 22 hours 2 bids 12 watchers
Rookwood Pottery Huge 14" Centerpiece Bowl & Frog 1922$46.00 Ends in 5 hours 5 bids 16 watchers
Rookwood Art Pottery Vase - Dated 1922$44.77 Ends Tuesday 6 bids 15 watchers
Rookwood Trivet Tile! A Beauty!$40.99 Ends Thursday 5 bids 13 watchers
Rookwood Jewel Porcelain Vase, 1945 Buy it Now$38.50 Ends in 5 hours 2 bids 3 watchers
1956 Rookwood Pottery Letter Sorter Vintage First Stamp$38.00 Ends Monday 3 bids 15 watchers
Rookwood 1920 Matte Blue Vase Birds At Rim Shape 2312$34.00 Ends Thursday 7 bids 20 watchers
Rookwood 1926 Matte Pink & Green Arts & Crafts Vase Nr$28.00 Ends Saturday 2 bids 17 watchers
1938 Green Rookwood Ashtray A Human Institution$26.56 Ends Monday 4 bids 8 watchers
Superb Rookwood Raven Tray $26.00 Ends Friday 2 bids 13 watchers
Vintage Rookwood Pottery Vase Dancing Ladies Stars Xlv$24.99 Ends Thursday 1 bid 6 watchers
Rookwood Ashtray Macgregor Goldsmith L.a.(roy) Willis $24.99 Ends Tuesday 1 bid 3 watchers
Rookwood Vase! Beautiful!$24.99 Ends Thursday 1 bid 7 watchers
Rookwood Pottery Matt Dark Blue Handled Vase 1927 Mint$22.50 Ends Sunday 4 bids 15 watchers
Shawnee Puss-n-boots Creamer$22.00 Ends Tuesday 1 bid 2 watchers
Rookwood Art Pottery Mat White Handled Vase 1932 Mint$18.50 Ends Sunday 3 bids 12 watchers
Rookwood Matte White Overlapping Leaves Vase 1935 Mint!$15.49 Ends Sunday 7 bids 15 watchers
Rookwood Pottery Mat Green Flower & Leaf Vase 1942 Mint$15.19 Ends Sunday 7 bids 24 watchers

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Recent News: Rookwood Art Pottery

Source: Google News

Design of the Century: Property from LA Philanthropist Nancy M. Daly to ...
Art Daily, March 20th

Vase by William P. McDonald exhibited in the famed Paris 1900 exhibition and depicted in the publication Rookwood Pottery: The Glorious Gamble (est...Read more

Treasure hunt: Event gives community a chance to gauge value of collectibles ...
Prescott Daily Courier, March 12th

Demski was not sure if Weller Pottery or Rookwood Pottery, two old Ohio-based companies, crafted the piece. "It's too good to be junk and it's not marked to...Read more

Sharon Boccelli & Company Auctioneers
Antiques and the Arts Online, March 12th

others Porcelain Pottery & Glass:: Rookwood claret by Valentien, sev. lots, several lots of Wedgwood, Limoge, Mintons, Dedham, Mt. Washington satin,...Read more

Cincinnati named new business hot spot
The News Record, March 9th

Rookwood Pottery is one of the businesses that contributed to the rise. The company, based in Over the Rhine, was established by Maria Longworth in 1880...Read more

Cincinnati Highly Rated For Business Expansion
WCPO, March 3rd

Just a few of the major projects that have fueled economic growth in the past year include Hollywood Casino, Rookwood Pottery, Ecotech, and Logoplaste...Read more

Hear 'The Rookwood Pottery Story' at Westwood Historical meeting
Cincinnati.com, February 25th

During the March 10 Westwood Historical Society meeting, Christopher Rose, CEO of Rookwood Pottery, will tell “The Rookwood Pottery Story...Read more

Eclectic Sale Draws Variety Of Bidders To CRN Auction
Antiques and the Arts Online, February 23rd

The pair of Rookwood covered jars decorated by Ohio artist William Hentschel with a Persian design of leaves and birds on blue glaze realized $1255...Read more

Hatch to conduct huge estates auction Feb. 26-27
Auction Central News, February 22nd

A nice group of Southern pottery will also be offered, to include Roseville, Rookwood, Weller and even a couple of pieces by Pablo Picasso...Read more