European ceramicsThe items offered in this section are mostly Martin Brothers birds and stoneware from England and Rookwood, Van Briggle and Grueby pottery from the United States. Other items might be Amphora pottery from Austria, Royal Dux ceramics from Bohemia, or Tiffany Studios pottery or bronze from the United States. The Martin Brothers started producing stoneware in the 1860's in England. Their first production was standard with realistic decoration of flowers and geometric designs. They did not start producing their "grotesque" vases, spoon warmers, face jugs, and figural bird tobacco jars until the 1890's. Production of these extraordinary items continued for about 15 years. Today Martinware items, especially birds, are highly sought after. Prices of birds range from $10,000 to over $50,000 for the biggest and rarest examples. Most people look for "character". The more interesting the character, the better the bird ( or other object). The Rookwood Pottery was founded in 1880 in Cincinnati, Ohio by Maria Longworth Nichols. After much experimentation, the pottery produced a vast array of wares from artist signed hand decorated vases and plaques to commercial vases that were produced in molds. Initially their first commercially successful glaze was known as "Standard Glaze". This was followed by many successful glazes such as "Vellum", "Iris", "Sea Green", "Wax Matte", and others. Subject matter varied greatly from flowers to scenes to animals to portraits. Rookwood employed many artists of varying talent. The success of an individual vase depended in part on the ability of that artist. The company remained viable for many years until their demise in the summer of 1967. |
