A Brief History of Polish Pottery

Our friend Agnus does a very brisk business selling Polish Pottery at the local area antique and collectibles markets. We can’t help but marvel at her salesmanship as she explains to the throngs of collectors and potential customers who hang around her booth, what Polish Pottery is, where it comes from and best of all the different vibrant patterns it comes in.

Polish Pottery is high-fired in over 1250 degrees C, and is extremely durable and lasts for many many years. The first known pieces of this pottery date back to the 1500’s and were hand made and hand decorated. In the early days, the pottery was decorated using potatoes to create the designs, today the designs are created with sponges. The main colors used even to this day are cobalt blue, peacock blue as well as earth tones. Each piece was an individual piece of artwork. Most of the pottery comes from the City of Boleslawiec, called by some the “Home of Polish Pottery.”

While molds are used for some pieces, most of the pieces are still made on a pottery wheel. The decoration is applied after the pieces are fired in coal and gas ovens, then a glaze is applied to the piece. Today the pottery comes in hundreds of patterns. Because of the high temperatures, the Polish Pottery pieces are extremely resilient and can withstand use of the microwave oven, the fridge and or regular ovens. Polish Pottery is also very collectible; especially those pieces marked “Unikat” which stands for unique. These unique pieces are created by accomplished artisans who create their own work from start to finish.

NOVA-Antiques Newsletter Archives – June 9, 2005 . . . .

Antique Redware Pottery – A Brief History

Redware pottery, which is just what the name implies, a reddish brown colored pottery, was first made by English settlers in the 1600’s. Redware pottery was made in many different states including, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York and Tennessee. The reason it is that color is because of the iron content of the clay that was used to produce the pottery. The shades of red or brown can vary greatly depending on where the clay came from and how much iron is in the clay. Antique redware pottery from colonial times can be found to be in most cases rough and usually of poor quality. The reason for this is because of the restriction imposed on the English Settlers by the British crown in the 17th Century.

Until the revolutionary war, the settlers were required to send all raw materials to England where the clay would be turned into well designed and fancy pottery. The pottery would then be sent all over the world, including the colonies here in America. It was unlawful for potters to produce their own products lest the crown not make a huge and handsome profit on the shipment, production and re-shipment of product. Although it was unlawful, some colonists continued to make their own pottery and it was tolerated because the merchandise was of inferior quality to the pottery made in England. After the War of Independence, many potters came to the United States from England and later other countries such as Germany and produce better quality products that were able to compete with the English pottery.

Recently, an Associated Press article said that a piece of Redware Pottery made by John Alexander Lowe was auctioned for about $63,000 in Knoxville, Tennessee. According to the article this was the only known surviving piece of pottery associated with Lowe because all other findings in the past consisted mainly of shards. Case Antique Auction Gallery auctioned off redware jar which is believed to be from the mid-19th Century.

Nippon China and Porcelain

The McKinley Tariff Act of 1891 required that all merchandise manufactured outside of the United States be marked or labeled with the country of manufacture. From 1891 to 1921 many items that were manufactured in Japan were branded with the word Nippon. However, in 1921 the United States government decided that merchandise coming from Japan had to be marked as such, even though Nippon means the source of the rising and son and it is what the Japanese call their country. Merchandise labeled or branded Nippon from that era however has become increasingly collectible and valuable depending on it design.

Although Japan had a long history of producing porcelain, the porcelain marked Nippon was strictly produced for import into the United States and the west. Because Japan did not have counterfeit or copyright laws and they were trained by westerners from other countries, they were able to produce items that were very close in quality and likeness to many other manufacturers of the time, including Beleek and Limoges. Antique Nippon china and porcelain is usually hand painted and very ornately decorated and designed. While elaborate pieces of Nippon are bringing in top dollar, pieces with less design and a lot of white space are bringing in less money.

People also are being cautious because of the amount of fake and reproduction Nippon china available on the open market. According to reports, the fakes first started appearing in the 1980’s with fake stamps bearing a familiar wreath known to Nippon collectors. The more savvy collectors can tell the difference between the fake and the real stamp, but many people cannot and they purchased the fakes. Other companies started reproducing merchandise using actual molds. Most collectors however can tell the difference by the way the porcelain looks and feels and most of these newer reproductions do not bear the proper stamp or label.

Clarice Cliff Pottery Designer

Many of you who love Art Deco will know a piece of Clarice Cliff ceramic from a mile away. The Artist was born in 1899 in Staffordshire and started in meager beginnings as a painter of pottery, as many women of that time, in that area of the world. However, that is where the similarities with other women of the time ended.

Clarice had much ambition to become a designer and in 1928 launched the Bizarre line of pottery. The pottery resembled its name, with its bold and exuberant designs, but they were stamped with her name and quickly became popular. Now collectors clamor to discover one of her works. One of her decorative platters recently sold at auction $72,000. The Designer, Clarice Cliff, passed away in 1972.

NOVA-Antiques Newsletter Archives - September 1, 2005 . . . .