Posted 9 years ago
jondal
(8 items)
I picked this up at a thrift shop a while back and haven't been able to identify it. I would love to know who made it and what the style is called. It has a very unique combination of glaze types and gold enamel. The base glaze is matte with a fine sand grain feel. I haven't been able to find anything even similar to it in all my research. 6" long x 3 " wide x 3" tall
Shawnee Pottery?
Thank you Dizzydave - I have not yet found any shawnee pieces similar, but I am still searching.
I can see what looks like another stamp above the USA stamp but can't make it out.
USA Pottery Mark
Some Information
If you are familiar at all with pottery, you will notice a large number of pieces that are marked with only "USA". There is not a USA Pottery Company that produced these wares. For a sufficient explanation of why pieces are marked like this, lets start in the 1800's. Back then, most pottery was created to be used in everyday life by an individual that probably lived near you. The makers rarely marked these pieces because beyond there usefulness, the items weren't much to look at. (imagine an old, brown stoneware crock) As pottery techniques matured around the turn of the century, many larger potteries were formed. (think industrialization) Many produced artistic works that the creator would want recognition for his efforts. Anyway, every company had their own rules about marking their wares. Marks would sometimes include company name, logo / symbol, an artist signature, mold number, initials, country, state, city, what they had for lunch, etc., etc. Many companies would include no mark at all. Or, they opted for a simple paper / foil sticker instead. The stickers rarely stayed on the pieces long, and they'd wind up unmarked. Around the time of WW I, many businesses felt a patriotic need to include USA on their goods. This may have been also due to their exporting items overseas. Later on around WWII (I think?), the US government passed a law that all imported goods had to be marked with their country of origin. Some American companies saw this and decided that they no longer needed to include USA mark, because the imports would be stamped "Japan", "China", or whatever and people would know an unmarked piece was made here. Other companies continued to use the USA mark. Others continued to use it, on some types of pottery. Other businesses decided to use it sporadically. Some potteries were only going to use it on Thursdays. (you get the point! ;) Basically, if you are going to find out who made your nifty green planter, your going to have to do some research. To start off with, the most prolific of the USA markers was Shawnee & McCoy.
Thank you for your question Efesgirl- I don't think it's another mark, it is a rough patch in the glaze. I thought it was a mark also until I looked at it with my jewelry loop, it almost looks like a sticky spot like from a price sticker but it is in the glaze.
Dizzydave - thank you, but I am aware of the USA mark history and I have looked at a lot of McCoy and Shawnee pottery lines, everything I can find, but I have not found anything similar to the style of this pot. The mixture of glazes and the "splatter" technique. If I have missed something or you have seen this style before please let me know.