My favorite exhibit that we got to see during our museum visit was the display of art pottery. In the late 1800's through the early twentieth century, Cincinnati was a major producer of art pottery. Rookwood Pottery was one of the major art pottery manufacturers. I think I have seen some examples of Rookwood Pottery before or at least Rookwood-like pottery and it is absolutely beautiful. Much of it has a very organic look to its design. It seems to have been heavily influenced by the Art Nouveau movement in art and architecture. However, there were also pieces that were really modern looking especially when I noted their date it seemed as if they were really ahead of their time. Along with this, there are some specialty Rookwood pieces that are hard to categorize. They seem to be almost novelty pieces. I was also totally amazed by the architectural works in the museum's collection including a fountain and a fireplace mantel. I've included a photo of a Rookwood vase that is part of the Cincinnati Art Museum collection.
Here's what Wikipedia has to say about Rookwood Pottery:
Maria Longworth Nichols Storer founded Rookwood Pottery in 1880 as a way to market her hobby - the painting of blank tableware. Through years of experimentation with glazes and kiln temperatures, she eventually built her own kiln, hired a number of excellent chemists and artists who were able to create high-quality glazes of colors never before seen on mass-produced pottery.
Each era of Rookwood work has its own unique character:
The earliest work is relief-worked on naturally-colored clay, in pinks, greys and sage or olive greens. Some were gilt, or had stamped patterns, and some were carved. Often these were painted or otherwise decorated by the purchaser of the "greenware" (unfinished piece), a precursor to today's do-it-yourself movement.
After this period, Storer sought a "standard" look for Rookwood, and developed a number of very common treatments: the "standard glaze," a deep gold, red and orange over dark brown fired in such a way as to effect a very high-gloss finish, often in leaf or flower motifs. A series of portraits - often of generic American Indian characters or certain historical figures – was also produced using these particular glazes. Next was the "matte glaze," a flat but textured glaze developed by Artus Van Briggle, often painted on soft colored clay, which used "sea green" for aquatic and floral motifs. This pale blue-green glaze was usually applied over a soft yellow, bluish or red base. Another common Rookwood style of this period was the "vellum" glaze, usually a matte light blue, put on top of a very lightly colored clay. This was most often used for landscape scenes.
Other popular styles that came out through the lifetime of the Rookwood factory included the "iris" glaze, a high-gloss white over pinks, blues, and yellows and usually used for floral motifs, and the less-common but very collectible "tiger eye" which left gold streaks from ingredients in the glaze. This last glaze was unstable and it is not clear whether it was abandoned for reasons of chemistry or popularity.
One of the last styles of Rookwood was the "ombroso" glaze, not used until after 1910. Ombroso, used on cut or incised pottery, is a brown or black matte glaze.
In 1902, Rookwood added architectural pottery to its portfolio. Under the direction of Watts Taylor, this division rapidly gained national and international acclaim. Many of the flat pieces were used around fireplaces in homes in Greater Cincinnati and surrounding areas, while custom installations found their places in grand homes, hotels, and public spaces. Even today, Rookwood tiles decorate Carew Tower, Union Terminal (Cincinnati) and Dixie Terminal in Cincinnati, as well as the Rathskeller Room in The Seelbach Hilton in Louisville, Ky. In New York, the Vanderbilt Hotel, Grand Central Station, the Mayo Clinic, Lord and Taylor and several subway stops feature Rookwood tile designs
If you ever get a chance, I encourage you to check out this great collection of Rookwood Pottery at the Cincinnati Museum of Art. You won't be disappointed.
Thanks for being a part of my journey!
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