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Identify
Scott, I am particularly curious about #1 and #6. #6 looks very Stangl-esque, but I am not familiar with this pattern, but I love it! Is #9 also Stangl Ranger?
Illustration
Mike, I love it when you do a quick tint screen over the photos! Very nice.
Nope, #9 is not Stangl, but it sure goes well with the chop plate behind it. I'll let a few other people try to guess what #1, #6 and #9 are before I reveal their identity.
Christmas guesses
What a fantastic arrangement Scott! I'll take a guess at #6 and #9. The #6 plate is wonderful -- I think it might be a Catalina Pottery piece decorated with a Santa Catalina Island theme. I think the #9 cowboy figurine is from Red Wing Pottery.
Good Guess!
Right on both counts, Clyde. The cowboy figure is Red Wing and it has a "HANDPAINTED" mark on the bottom. I am guessing that it's a Charles Murphy design, but I am not exactly sure about that. I have always liked the way it looks next to the Stangl Ranger chop plate. The Catalina Pottery plate is one of my favorites--the wispy paint strokes look positively enchanting against the dark green glaze.
Can anyone guess the identity on vase #1?
Catalina Island
That Catalina Island plate is really quite something! I'm adding it to my favorites as well.
Catalina plate
Scott, do you know if there's a pattern name for the Catalina Pottery plate? I'm wondering if it was made solely as a decorative piece or as part of a dinnerware line. Regardless, it's stunning. At first I thought the large stylized plant depicted on the plate was a California fan palm but I suppose it could also be a blooming yucca.
Glaze Painted
Catalina Pottery made dinnerware sets, but a lot of their business was in decorative souvenir plates. This chop plate was glaze painted and the design was fired right into the background glaze. So, the plate was usable with food. Many of Catalina Pottery's decorative plates were cold painted and only made for decorative purposes.
Scott, I figured out the
Scott, I figured out the vase, but I won't let the cat out of the bag! Amazing!!!!!!
Mystery Vase
It's not too difficult to figure out, but it certainly is rare. I had the good fortune to find it in a Chicago antique mall years ago. Should I go ahead and tell what it is?
The other pieces are fairly easy to ID.
Certainly! Truly a
Certainly! Truly a sensational find.
Also, how about the cat and the dog that are hiding?
Dog and Pegasus
Good eye, Mike. That's actually a little dachshund planter and a Pegasus planter peeking in the back. Does anyone know who made them and the designer?
Mystery Vase
Before you tell what it is, how about a few clues instead? There's something about it that looks familiar but it's not registering.
I agree that the other pieces are fairly easy to I. D. except for the plate behind the vase. Can't see enough of it to be clear. Oh, never mind. I guess it's the Catalina Island plate that you posted a separate photo of!
Vase Clue
In the spirit of the holidays, and because I watched White Christmas, with Rosemary Clooney and Vera Ellen, 3 times this season, here is your clue as to who designed the vase...
Sisters, sisters, there were never such devoted sisters...at least in the pottery world that is!
Mystery Vase
I'll go out on a limb and take a wild guess. The Overbeck sisters?
No...
guess again!
Someone else guess
Like I said, it was a wild guess and the vase certainly isn't consistent with the few Overbeck pieces I've seen photos of. I'm out of guesses at the moment.
Salamina
Even though no one has identified it by name, I think the Vernon Kilns Salamina plate/charger (#17) deserves a mention. The Salamina artwork created by Rockwell Kent is stunning.
I think Salamina is trying to tell you something
I think Salamina is trying to tell you something.
Salamina moonlighted as a
Salamina moonlighted as a potter up there in Greenland? O.K., I'll guess that Rockwell Kent has something to do with this vase. If so, then there's a good chance that Vernon Kilns produced it. Still, I'm struggling to see the incised design detail on the vase but it has a tropical feel that doesn't seem consistent with Rockwell Kent. If the Vernon Kilns connection is correct, perhaps Don Blanding? Now you can tell me why I need to book the next passage to Greenland.
Vernon Kilns!
Clyde, you're right with Vernon Kilns. But, do you know who designed it at Vernon Kilns? My "sisters" clue is still valid!
Sisters
Given your clue Scott, the vase was probably designed by May and Genevieve Hamilton. Even if this isn't right, I'm learning more about Vernon Kilns!
Bingo!
You got it. It's called a Carved Ovoid.
The Hamilton sisters designed some of the most amazing art deco and moderne pottery in the mid-1930s for Vernon Kilns. They were a favorite of Cedric Gibbons, who was a set designer for MGM, and used many pieces as movie props. All of these Hamilton pieces are considered rare and highly desirable. I was lucky enough to find this piece years ago in the antique mall I sell out of. It's not perfect (it has a few chips), but it displays very well.
Hamilton Sisters
Thanks for the clues - this was fun! It's a great looking vase and now I'm eager to learn more about the Hamilton sister's work.
So is this plate a Vernon Kilns plate?
I swear the woman depicted looks like she lept off of a Diego Rivera mural.Beautiful.
Vernon Kilns!
Hi shastacola,
Yes, the chop plate from Rockwell Kent's Salamina dinnerware line for Vernon Kilns. The illustrations were based a book he wrote of the same name about his adventures in Greenland and with his housekeeper Salamina. Kent also designed Our American and Moby Dick for Vernon Kilns, but Salamina was the only hand-colored dinnerware line. Kent's dinnerware lines were introduced just about the time that WWII started. They were not considered a success and are rather hard to find today.
Scott
pegasus
I love dauchunds, but don't know who the planter was by. Is the horse a pegasus planter by Red Wing?
wait...pegasus
wait it's all coming to me now, I've seen thsi pegasus...i think it was a special edition my friend has by redwing rumrill? say that ten times fast.
Yes!
The Pegasus planter is by Red Wing and I assume that Charles Murphy designed it. I'll take a close-up photo and post it soon.
I found it a couple of years ago in a small Chicago antique store that I had never been in before. It's not marked Red Wing (there is just a number in the mold), so it was priced at a friendly $8.
pegasus
Eight bucks in an antique mall? That was a sweet deal. I love "the winged titan horse" thanks to my Clash of TItan Harry Hamlin fantasy. Anyhow, enough said, I really like the color and style.
The photo and comments
The photo and comments were fun! Thanks for the ID of the vase.