14 July 2012 - TBA

The Mint Museum, Randolph

The decades surrounding 1900 were an exciting time in American ceramics as craftsmen and designers competed for their own share of the luxury goods market as well as for favorable critical reviews at international expositions held regularly during this time period.  American manufactories, determined to make products that rivaled those of their more established European and Asian counterparts, exhibited tremendous artistic creativity and introduced many technological innovations.  Many companies hired skilled artisans and craftsmen to improve the quality of their wares and create prototypically American works.  This exhibition showcases over 35 American ceramics from The Mint Museum's permanent collection, highlighting the remarkable work of American craftsmen and designers at the turn of the 20th century. 

Featured Groups and Manufactories

Ceramic Art Company

• The Ceramic Art Company, founded in 1889 in Trenton, NJ by Walter Scott Lenox and Jonathan Coxon, was an incarnation of the present-day Lenox, Inc. An early producer of American Belleek porcelain, the company grew from an 18 person art studio producing one-of-a-kind wares to a larger manufacturer of full service dinnerware, prompting the name change to Lenox Incorporated in 1906. 
• Detailed history of the company from Lenox
• Examples and an overview of the Ceramic Art Company's evolution from Stockton College of New Jersey's Educational Technology Training Center 

Chelsea Keramic Art Works

• Chelsea Keramic Art Works was founded by Hugh C. Robertson and his father in 1872. Known for their Grecian terra cotta and Pompeian bronzes, the company contributed greatly to the Art Pottery Movement by developing the Chelsea faience, underglazed opaque earthenware that resulted in the development of other American faience. After years of experimenting, Robertson discovered a recipe for the secret Chinese glaze, Sang-de-Boeuf, and produced 300 pieces of what he dubbed Sang de Chelses in 1888. However, his experiments exhausted the finances of Chelsea Keramic Art Works, causing the studio to close in 1889.
• Images of works from the Metropolitan Museum of Art
• Informative article on American Ceramics, 1876 - 1956 by Alice Cooney Frelinghuysen and Adrienne Spinozzi from Antiques & Fine Art Magazine

Jervis Pottery

• Jervis Pottery was a short-lived studio producing pottery from 1908 to 1912. Founded by William Jervis, the principal craftsman, the company also received help from Frederick Rhead who contributed a sgraffito style that he had learned while at Roseville. 
• Brief background on the history of Jervis from Just Art Pottery
• Overview of the Jervis Pottery story from Art Pottery Place 
• Information on Jervis' connection to Price and Rose Valley from the Rose Valley Museum and Historical Society 

Newcomb Pottery

• Newcomb Pottery was part of the program at Newcomb College, founded in 1894, now absorbed by Tulane University in New Orleans. Newcomb potters and designers were awarded 8 medals at international exhibitions by 1916. Most glazes used were glossy with blue and green hues, although there were a few matte glazes. The style is typified by nature motifs with cross-sections of plants and flowers, silhouettes of rabbits, and ornate symmetry. 
• Poesch, Jessie J. Newcomb pottery: an enterprise for Southern women, 1895 - 1940. Exton, PA: Schiffer Pub., 1984.
• History with examples from Just Art Pottery
• Detailed historical and artist information from Tulane University 
• In-depth article on the pottery education and markings of Newcomb from the Arts & Crafts Society 

Ott and Brewer

• Ott and Brewer, originally known as the Etruria Pottery Company and then as Bloor, Ott and Brewer, was founded in 1863 by William Bloor who remained the principal artistic director of the firm until 1871. After his departure, John Hart Brewer took over, employing Isaac Broome as a designer. Broome transformed the company from a maker of utilitarian pieces to one of the finest American ceramic art firms, creating the famous baseball vase as well as numerous Parian wares. Ott and Brewer is known for introducing America to the Belleek style, for which the company brought workers from Ireland, and developing the American Belleek.
• History of Trenton pottery making with information on Ott & Brewer from The Trenton City Museum
• Information on the markings and styles of Ott & Brewer from the Trenton Historical Society 
• Brief overview and several example images from Stockton College of New Jersey's Educational Technology Training Center

Rookwood Pottery 

• Rookwood was founded in 1880 by Maria Longworth Nichols Storer after she was excluded from the Cincinnati Pottery Club. She was in fact extended an invitation to join, but never received it. Storer saw it as a personal insult from M. Louise McLaughlin, and their rivalry was born. Located in Cincinnati and named for Storer's family home, Rookwood is characterized by a wide range of subjects: flowers, insects, Native American portraits, landscapes, and Japanese themes. There were a variety of glazes used including Standard, Vellum, Iris and Matte.
• Peck, Herbert. The Book of Rookwood Pottery. New York: Bonanza, 1968. NK4340.R7 P4 1968b
• Article from Just Art Pottery on Rookwood's origins and style.
• In-depth piece chronicling the rivalry between Storer and McLaughlin and their influence in Cincinatti from Discovering the Story on the Cincinnati Art Museum's website

Roseville Pottery 

• Huxford, Sharon. The collectors encyclopedia of Roseville pottery. Paducah, KY: Collectors Books, 1976. 
• Purviance, Louise. Roseville art pottery in color. Des Moines, IA: Wallace-Homestead Book Co., 1970. 
• Information on Roseville's origins from Just Art Pottery

Teco (Gates Potteries)

• Darling, Sharon S. Teco: art pottery of the Prarie School. Erie, PA: Erie Art Museum, 1989. 
• Article with history and stylistic information from Just Art Pottery

Union Porcelain Works

• Union Porcelain Works

Weller Pottery

• Formerly Lonhuda Pottery, Weller Pottery Company is named for its founder Samuel Weller. Weller usually took cues from Rookwood pottery in glazes and techniques, partially due to its close proximity to Cincinnati in Zanesville, Ohio and Laura Fry's influence. For example, Louwelsa was developed by Fry as a variant of Rookwood's Standard. Weller's only unique glaze to the American market was Sicardo developed by Jaques Sicard. It is characterized by rainbows of color and iridescence. Weller Pottery usually has nature motifs and forms which are all similar to Newcomb as well as Rookwood Pottery.

• Carrigan, Linda. Weller pottery: the rare, the unusual, the seldom seen. Sarasota, FL: Marlin Media Pub., 2003. 

• McDonald, Ann Gilbert. All about Weller: a history and collector's guide to Weller Pottery, Zanesville, Ohio. Marietta, OH: Antique Publications, c1989, c2006.

• Article from Just Art Pottery with examples and additional information

Willets Manufacturing Company

• Willets

Print Resources from The Mint Museum Library

• Clark, Garth. American ceramics, 1876 to the present. New York: Abbeville Press, 1987. 
• Dietz, Ulysses G. Masterpieces of art pottery, 1880 - 1930. Newark, NJ: Newark Museum, 2009. 
• Levin, Elaine. The history of American ceramics, 1607 to the present: from pipkins and bean pots to contemporary forms. New York: H.N. Abrams, 1988. 
• Perry, Barbara. Fragile blossoms, enduring earth: the Japanese influence on American ceramics. Syracuse, NY: Everson Museum of Art, 1989. 

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Created by Nicole Jacobson, Volunteer for The Mint Museum Library