tulip vase

Elizabeth Neave (Lingenfelter) Lincoln, decorator

1876–1957

Rookwood Pottery, manufacturer

active 1880–1967

tulip vase, 1900

Where object was made: Cincinnati, Ohio, United States

Material/technique: glaze; pottery

Dimensions:
Object Height/Width (Height x Width): 21.59 x 15.87 cm
Object Height/Width (Height x Width): 8 1/2 x 6 1/4 in

Credit line: William Bridges Thayer Memorial

Accession number: 1928.3506

Not on display

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In 1880, Maria Longworth Nichols (1849–1932) established Rookwood Pottery in her hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio. By the turn of the 20th century, the company achieved widespread success and fame. This vase represents Rookwood Pottery’s distinctive and very popular “Standard” line, with a translucent, yellow-tinted, high-gloss glaze coating the painted floral decoration.

Marketed to, and often decorated by women, Rookwood Pottery responded to women’s growing influence beyond the domestic sphere. The company promoted high-quality American ceramics to meet the demand for luxury goods because women had increased purchasing power. Emphasizing unique hand-painting, Rookwood offered professional opportunities for women in the arts. These more artistic opportunities served as an alternative to the usual domestic service, factory, and shop work offered to women. Although little is known about many of the manufacturer’s decorators, or customers, Elizabeth Lincoln, the decorator of this piece, was born in Cincinnati. She worked for Rookwood Pottery from 1892–1931, changing her name to Lincoln sometime after 1900.

Rookwood decorators had access to study a collection of Japanese ceramics acquired by Nichols for the company, which she later gave to the Cincinnati Art Museum. Like the founder of Rookwood, art collector Sallie Casey Thayer collected ceramics from Asia, Europe, and the United States, including Rookwood, for the purposes of study and the promotion of industrial arts.

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Civic Leader and Art Collector: Sallie Casey Thayer and an Art Museum for KU

In 1880 Maria Longworth Nichols (1849–1932) established Rookwood Pottery in her hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio. By the turn of the 20th century, the company achieved widespread fame and commercial success. This vase represents Rookwood Pottery’s distinctive and very popular Standard line with its translucent, yellow-tinted, high-gloss glaze that coats the painted floral decoration.

Marketed to and often decorated by women, Rookwood Pottery responded to women’s growing influence beyond the domestic sphere. The company promoted high-quality American ceramics to appeal to demand for luxury goods by women who had increased purchasing power. Emphasizing the uniqueness of the ware’s hand-painting, Rookwood also offered professional opportunities in the arts, an alternative to domestic service, factory, and shop work. Although little is known about many of Rookwood’s decorators or customers, Elizabeth Lincoln, born in Cincinnati, worked for the pottery manufacturer from 1892–1931.

Rookwood decorators had access to a study collection of Japanese ceramics acquired by Nichols for the company, which she later gave to the Cincinnati Art Museum. Similarly to Nichols, Sallie Casey Thayer collected ceramics from Asia as well as Europe and the United States, including Rookwood, for the purposes of study and the promotion of industrial arts. Thayer donated her collection to the University of Kansas to allow the academic and public communities greater access for research and viewing.

Exhibition Label:
"Quilts: A Thread of Modernism," Aug-2005, Debra Thimmesch and Barbara Brackman
Maria Longworth Nichols founded Rookwood Pottery in 1880. American art pottery, still in its infancy, flourished at the turn-of-the-century due to enterprises like Rookwood, Gates Potteries, Grueby Faience Company, Van Briggle Pottery, and numerous others. At Rookwood, designers absorbed contemporary stylistic trends such as Arts and Crafts, Art Nouveau, and Art Deco and in turn produced art pottery until the late 1940s.