Art pottery is decorative pottery made from the later nineteenth century onwards in which artistic design, experimental glazes and hand decoration take precedence over everyday use. It emerged in reaction to mass-produced ceramics and is closely associated with the Aesthetic and Arts and Crafts movements.
Britain was a leading centre of art pottery. Doulton's Lambeth studio employed trained artists, among them Hannah Barlow, who incised animal subjects into salt-glazed stoneware, while William De Morgan revived lustre decoration inspired by Islamic and Renaissance ceramics. Other notable makers include the Martin Brothers, the Linthorpe Pottery, Burmantofts, Bretby, Ault, the Ruskin Pottery, Pilkington's and Moorcroft, many of which developed distinctive glazes such as flambé, lustre and high-fired effects. In the United States, Rookwood and Grueby were among the best known. Pieces are often signed or marked with factory marks and decorators' monograms, which add to their interest and help identify individual artists. Collectors look for strong forms, accomplished decoration and successful, well-fired glazes, and condition is important, since chips, hairline cracks and restoration reduce value. Art pottery displays well in groups on shelves and mantelpieces, where contrasting glazes and shapes play against one another.
