Clothing
+ Fashion		Jewelry +
Watches		Home +
Furniture		 Pottery 
+ Glass		Art +
 Photos 		Paper +
  Books  		Music +
Movies		Toys +
Games		Sports +
Outdoors		Ads +
  Signs  		Eras +
Themes

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.

About our sources | Got something to add?

▼ Expand to read the full article ▼

Show & Tell - Share Your Stuff!

» See all Rookwood Show & Tells

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]

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 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]

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]

▼ Expand this section

Best of the Web (“Hall of Fame”)

Gouda Design

Gouda Design

Stuart Lonsdale and Kim Lindley's excellent tribute to and reference on Gouda Dutch Art Pottery and Delftware. The … [read review or visit site]

LACMA Arts and Crafts

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]

Cowan Pottery Museum Associates

Cowan Pottery Museum Associates

Dedicated to raising awareness of the ceramic art work of R. Guy Cowan and his Cowan Pottery Studio in northeastern… [read review or visit site]

Modernism

Modernism

An overview by the Minneapolis Institute of Arts of the design movements between 1880 and 1940 that comprised Moder… [read review or visit site]

Chicago Silver

Chicago Silver

Paul Somerson's incredible reference on handwrought metalwork from the American Arts and Crafts movement of the ear… [read review or visit site]

The Pottery Studio

The Pottery Studio

This 7,000-plus page site lives up to its self-billing as a 'knowledge base' with examples of work from all major a… [read review or visit site]

1910 Metal

1910 Metal

A detailed tribute to the lesser-known artistic metalwork craftsmen of the Arts and Crafts movement. In addition t… [read review or visit site]

Clarice Cliff Collectors Club

Clarice Cliff Collectors Club

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]



Clubs & Associations: Art Pottery

Discussion Forums: Art Pottery

Other Great Reference Sites: Art Pottery

Top eBay Auctions

See all 45 by  highest bid • most watched • completed
Rookwood Pottery Vase Iris 1908Rookwood Fred Rothenbusch 1924Rookwood Edward Diers 1929 Early 1918 Rookwood Green Gloosy Deco Vase Arthur Conant ArtistRookwood 1934 Abel BookendsRare Frog Figure PintrayRookwood Highly-sought Bookends In Excellent Condition; Louise Abel DesignRookwood Standard Glaze Ewer With Dandelions By Sallie Toohey Early C1904 'geometric Design' Rookwood Arts & Crafts Pottery Vase Early C1913 Rookwood Arts & Crafts Pottery Vase Vintage 1940 Rookwood Art Pottery Cigarette Holder Trinket Box Yellow Glaze Owl1899 Rookwood Pottery Vase By Carrie Steinle 6.75" 732-cRookwood 1926--7" Wall PocketBeautiful Rookwood Arts & Crafts Vase; John Wareham Design, Great Condition1920 Large Rookwood Pottery Vase In Beautiful Mauve Color L@@kRookwood Pottery Blue 8" Matt Vase C.1930's Excellent ConditionArts And Crafts Rookwood Pottery Vase Satin Matte Or Wax Matte GlazeEarly C1923 3 Handle Rookwood Arts & Crafts Pottery Vase Rookwood Ship Paperweight #2792Rookwood Vintage Floral Design Porcelain Lamp SignedRemarkable 1917 Rookwood Bowl With Original Tag Signed N/rLarge And Unusual Rookwood Bowl Vase, 19061921 Rookwood Candlestick; Light Blue Matte Glaze; MintPink/rose Rookwood Vase Gorgeous Flawless Condition A&c Mission Fresh Estate NrRookwood Art Pottery Square Tan Floral Vase 6474Rookwood Vase Floral Turquoise Blue Lily Iris 6840Very Early Rookwood Vase, Special Shape, Perkins Decoration Vintage Rookwood Art Pottery 1927 Ox Blood Glaze Classic Chinese Urn Style VaseRookwood Pottery Arts & Craft Vase Pink Matte Dated 1925, Xxy-2558 - Ex. Cond.Blue Matte Glaze 4.75 Inch Vase In Excellent Condition. Family Heirloom.Arts & Crafts Rookwood Pottery 2330 Ivory Vase 1940Vintage Tile Table Rookwood Ship Tile1922 Rookwood Mustard Colored Handled Creamer Pitcher No. 1856Rookwood Pottery 2562 Handled Green Vase 1922 1926 Rookwood Pottery 77c Handled Teal VaseRookwood Pottery, Tea Tile Trivet, "southern Belle", Xxi-3070 - Circa 1921Rookwood Yellow Art Deco Flower Vase 1934, #6363, 5 ¾” €Antique Rookwood Vase About 5-1/2" Tall1925 Rookwood Pottery Vase - Pink/green Matte - #2871 - Beautiful - No Reserve!Rookwood 1929 #6108 5" Impressed Matt Glaze Vase Art PotteryRare Early Vintage Rookwood Arts & Crafts Vase Rookwood Bowl #2169 1915Pair Rookwood Art Pottery 1921 2444c Elephant Bookends Ivory Massive Rookwood Bowl Yellow Glaze Interior 1948Ca 1892 Rookwood Pottery Double Victorian Trade Card Views Valentien E. Plympton
»» Get our weekly Rookwood Art Pottery email



Right now on eBay



Recent News: Rookwood Art Pottery

Source: Google News

A Rookwood mystery in East Walnut Hills
Cincinnati.com, May 12th

Liang knew the tile was Rookwood, but he wanted to know more. Liang was one of 167 readers who have submitted photos of their architectural tiles to The Enquirer's “Is it Rookwood?” online project. We forwarded it to American pottery and tile expert...Read more

Carl Abel, 84, loved family, community
Cincinnati.com, May 7th

He played golf, coached little league and collected and gave talks about Rookwood pottery, an interest sparked by his family heritage: An aunt, Louise Abel, was a Rookwood artist. He cherished Sunday family dinners, which he cooked until a couple of...Read more

Jacquie M Allison Auctioneers
Antiques and the Arts Online, May 2nd

good amount of American and English silver including John Carter, London 1774 waiter, Tiffany bowl, Theodore B. Starr water pitcher, Bailey, Banks & Biddle teapot; Rookwood Pottery vase, Stueben and Val St. Lambert; Waterford and other cut glass;...Read more

Joe Rosson: Rookwood vase is rare example of painter's work
Knoxville News Sentinel, May 2nd

By Joe Rosson A chip on the rim of this Rookwood Pottery vase reduces its value to collectors. I have a 15 inch tall Rookwood pottery vase that I would like to know more about. It has the standard "RP" mark on the back with the flames surrounding it...Read more

British schooner takes load of lumber; Military Aid Society seeks mosquito ...
al.com (blog), April 30th

By order of the Board, A. DeV. CHAUDRON, Secretary. Rookwood Pottery. A piece of Rookwood will make a most appropriate wedding gift. A shipment of new designs and shades just received. EO Zadek Jewelry Company, Established nearly half a century...Read more

Shoppers find big steals at antique show
News-Press Now, April 29th

Volunteers priced the pottery piece thinking it was ordinary, he said. The dealer knew better and took the felt off to show the Van Briggle pottery mark. In the last of the 19th century, Artus Van Briggle worked at the Rookwood Pottery in Ohio,...Read more

Exhibit plots our history
Cincinnati.com, April 29th

Pieces from the collection – more than 40 paintings by Cincinnati artists, Rookwood pottery and related historical artifacts make up Treasures of the Past: Cincinnati's Historic Art, 1800-1930, and together show the progression of the city from a...Read more

Furniture carving stars
Cincinnati.com, April 28th

The Frys were then hired to do the same for the interior of a home Longworth built for his daughter, Maria Longworth, who later founded the Rookwood Pottery Company. That work took place between 1868 and 1872. When Miss Longworth's female friends saw...Read more

Art Pottery

Makers
Styles & Themes
Other

Arts and Crafts

suggest a category

See also

Share