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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 liked it, because I… [more]

Rookwood, Pioneer American Art Pottery

The Rookwood Pottery has gone to war. This pioneer among American art potteries, founded by Maria Longworth Storer of Cincinnati, … [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 of the peak of … [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 far back as I … [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 the early 1920s … [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 historian’s angle be… [more]

Elyse Karlin on the Beautifully Unrefined Origins of Arts & Crafts Jewelry

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

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Top eBay Auctions

See all 47 by  highest bid • most watched • completed
C1897 Rookwood Pottery Standard Glaze Vase Dandelion Floral Artist Signed "ag"Wow Silver Overlay Weller Heavy Solid Silver Handle Rookwood Art Signed WellerGorgeous Rookwood Pottery Vase 1924 Xxiv #2762 William Hentschel Art DecoMagnificent 1913 Rookwood Vellum Vase By Elizabeth Mcderment Antique Large Pair Rookwood Pottery Candlestick Green Glazed Xx 2947 13 1/2" Nr1912 Rookwood Vase -hurley10 3/8" Rookwood Vase With Whimsical American West Motif - No ReserveExceptional Rookwood Find: Classic Vase Form In Standard Glaze/great ConditionRookwood Arts & Crafts Candleholder In Unusual Form & Color, Great ConditionRookwood Art Pottery Buttressed Squat Vase Arts & Crafts Era 1922 Jardiniere NrRookwood 1920 Blue Arts & Crafts Mission Vase PotteryAntique Rookwood Pottery Z-line Early 1900s Green Matte Vase 5-3/4" TallBeautiful Rookwood Floral Vase By Liz Lincoln Circa 1906 Rookwood Vase~ Vellum Floral~ Wild Roses~ Signed Ed Diers~ 7"~ Excellent!Rookwood Yellow VaseBeautiful Rookwood Pottery Vase 1945 #6375 Leaf Berry Design Cream Glossy GlazeAdorable Roodwook Cream Color Rabbit 3 1/4" X 3 1/4" - Sweet - 1941...Beautiful Rookwood Pottery Vase2 Beautiful Weller Or Rookwood Pottery Matching Matte Blue Iris Floral Vases Rookwood C1923 Handled Vase2- First Edition Rookwood Pottery Books #1 & #2 Artist Signed Herbert PeckVintage Matte Green Rookwood Art Pottery Vase Xxxv S 1935? Estate Fresh Nr HtfRare Rookwood Vase Arts And Crafts Year 1930 # 2108 Real Nice NrRare Rookwood Vase Arts And Crafts Year 1919 # 1821 Real Nice Nr1919 Art Deco Rookwood Blue Vase 1781 6" Superior Condition No ReserveRookwood Pottery / Rookwood Vase, Xxiv 2719, 6 1/4" Tall, Matte Blue, Sunburst YRookwood Vase In Coromandal Glaze; John D. Wareham DesignRookwood Pottery Matt Turquoise Glaze Vase 1911 6193 C Xxxi 8 1/4" TallFooted Rookwood Vase, Gray With Turquoise Lining, Xlix 6036Small 1918 Rookwood Vase (4.5 Inches Tall)Rookwood Blue VaseRookwood Pottery Light Brown Ladybug Paperweight #6595 - 1988 1920 Rookwood Vase "as Is"Rookwood Pottery: Calla Lily Vase 6591Brown 7-hole Rookwood Flower Frog Xx1 Factory Defect Otherwise Excellent Rookwood Pottery Bowl, Flame Marks, Xvi, 2228Rookwood Arts & Crafts Bowl; Unusual Form & Color In Great ConditionRookwood Pottery Footed Vase 6036Rookwood Arts & Crafts - Small Vase - Carved -script Signature- Artist Initals?Vintage Rookwood Pottery Soft Grey Round Vase Bowl~cincinnati Ohio 1916 Rookwood Pottery Vase #2124 - Blue Over Pink - Factory Second Sold As IsRookwood Vase Custom Designed Embossed Scientific Assembly Seal1949 Aa GpRookwood Vase Very Nice Rookwood Pottery Ashtray In 99.9% Perfect Condition Never Ashed In§ Rookwood Pink Calla Lily Vase - 6591 - Made In 1949 §Vtg Rookwood Blue Bird Paper Weight For RestorationRookwood Tan And Rose Colored Vase
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Recent News: Rookwood Art Pottery

Source: Google News

A-1 Auction Service
Antiques and the Arts Online, February 4th

Art Pottery: Kataro Shuriyamidani standard glaze Rookwood ewer from Glover collection, Rookwood 1887 Artis Van Briggle ewer, F. Aukland 1882 ewer, AM Book printer ewer, Pewabic vase, several Fulper pieces, rare Ruskin decorated vase, Weller Louwelsa...Read more

Antiques from Heritage Center in Horst's Feb. 17-18 sale
Auction Central News, February 3rd

Friday's session commences at 1 pm and features a variety of art pottery, early china and glassware, lighting, duck decoys and wooden carvings. Highlighting the session, and perhaps the entire auction, is a phenomenal Tiffany Studios three-shade table...Read more

Christian Moerlein commissions Rookwood steins
Cincinnati Business Courier (blog), February 3rd

The Christian Moerlein Brewing Co. has commissioned the production of a limited edition Rookwood Pottery stein to commemorate the opening of the Moerlein Lager House. The stein, pictured to the right prior to stain and glazing, will be unveiled Feb...Read more

Opening date announced for Moerlein Lager ...
FOX19, February 3rd

In honor of the opening, Christian Moerlein has commissioned the production of a limited edition Rookwood Pottery stein to commemorate the opening of the lager house. The stein, which will be unveiled at the grand opening gala on Feb...Read more

Rookwood results are in
Cincinnati.com, January 27th

Go to Cincinnati.com, search Rookwood. Eighty-seven readers from Covington to Colerain Township sent us photos of old tile features in their homes after we invited them to take advantage of a pottery expert's knowledge in a Nov...Read more

Downtown Wooster is full of surprises
Canton Repository, January 27th

Among the current inventory is Weller, Rosewood and Rookwood Pottery; a felt-topped two-person game table; a circa-1910 pool table made in Toledo; eight full place settings of Coxon-Beleek china, made in Wooster, along with a four-poster bed, quilts,...Read more

Wade starts Rookwood search
Cincinnati.com, January 24th

The Rookwood Pottery Co. announced on Monday that chief executive officer Chip DeMois has left the company and will return to his consulting business. DeMois spent the past year at the 131-year-old Cincinnati institution leading a team of artists while...Read more

20 burgers to love
Cincinnati.com, January 20th

10: Rookwood: There have always been burgers at the Rookwood, ever since it morphed from former pottery factory to a restaurant. (Remember the Erkenbrecker Burger?) They have always been the height of sophistication for their time, with toppings like...Read more

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