Rookwood Pottery to auction vases for 140th anniversary
Rookwood Pottery unveiled more than 70 one-of-a-kind pieces Thursday to commemorate the 140th anniversary of the company’s first kiln firing on Thanksgiving Day 1880.
The hand-thrown decorative vases will be available by online auction starting Friday.
Rookwood Pottery, recognized as America’s premier art pottery company, returned to Cincinnati in 2006 and set about renewing its reputation with designs both contemporary and honoring the company’s heritage.
Maria Longworth Nichols founded Rookwood Pottery in 1880. It was the first large manufacturing business owned and operated by a woman in the United States. Rookwood helped launch the art pottery movement and was known throughout the world for exquisite quality vases and tiles. Many homes and businesses in Cincinnati feature Rookwood tile.
After its heyday in the 1930s, the Rookwood Pottery name and trademark changed hands, ending up with Michigan pottery collector Arthur Townley, who agreed to sell the assets and molds to Cincinnati investors and bring Rookwood home.
Every part of the process is done in the 88,000-square-foot building at 1920 Race St. in Over-the-rhine, from throwing the clay to glazing, firing and even selling the pieces.
All of the pieces in the 140th anniversary kiln were hand-thrown and carved by Rookwood potters Morgan Willenbrink and Lauren Thomeczek, then decorated by Rookwood’s team of polychrome and glaze artists.
“This is like Christmas morning opening presents. We’re not sure what we’ll get,” Rookwood’s resident historian George Hibben said before the kiln opening Thursday morning.
Glaze colors are muted when painted on and the colors pop out in the firing at 2,185 degrees Fahrenheit.
Hibben got chills when the door on the Blaauw Kiln was unlocked to reveal the colorful vases for the first time. Workers pulled the cart out on tracks as Hibben marveled at the artistry.
“I think the vases speak for themselves,” Hibben said.
The handcrafted designs pay homage to Rookwood’s history, from art deco feathers inspired by the Rookwood tile in Carew Tower’s arcade to sparkling Aventurine glazes reminiscent of the award-winning hues featured at the Paris Exposition in 1889 and 1900 that established the company’s reputation.
Each of the pieces are stamped with a 140th anniversary mark.
“There are only 70-some, maybe 80 being offered with this 140th stamp so this is a very limited celebration of art pottery here at Rookwood,” said Hibben.
A curated selection of the 140th anniversary vases will be available for auction on Rookwood.com, concluding on Thanksgiving Day to coincide with Rookwood’s first kiln drawn in 1880.