When it comes to art pottery manufacturers, some were high-end—with artful glazes and costly hand-finishing—while others sought to mass-produce an attractive product, attractively priced. Fulper Pottery, from Flemington, New Jersey, was one of the high-end, high-minded makers during the late Arts & Crafts period.
Fulper began (as many ceramics makers did) making utilitarian wares: stoneware crocks, tiles and plumbing pipes. Samuel Hill established his namesake company in 1814. His partner, Abraham Fulper, took-over in 1860, when Hill died. He renamed the company Fulper. By the Arts & Crafts period, his grandson, William H. Fulper II, was at the helm. He established the art pottery line, called Vasecraft, in 1909. Initially Fulper hired Dr. Cullen Parmalee from the Rutgers University Ceramics Department to oversee production—an attempt to emulate Ancient Chinese glazes (which were very popular). This proved expensive and difficult. In 1910, Fulper hired Martin Stangl who started with a new range of glazes and Arts & Crafts forms. By 1928, Stangl took over the company and "modernized": he developed a more production-friendly line, in the popular Art Deco style, which required less labor and could be sold more inexpensively.
The slender bud vase, shown above, was made in the Twenties. It bears the Fulper mark which was used from 1917 to 1934. The organic, crystalline glaze—a sophisticated chartreuse—drips gently down the sides of the vase. Click on the photo above to learn more about this handsome vase.
Though our Greenwich Village store is now permanently closed, LEO Design is still alive and well! Please visit our on-line store where we continue to sell Handsome Gifts (www.LEOdesignNYC.com).
To arrange a visit our Pittsburgh showroom (by private appointment only), please call 917-446-4248.