Pottery & Porcelain maker
Van Briggle Pottery marks
Artus Van Briggle, a former Rookwood decorator, started the pottery in Colorado Springs in 1901.
- Active
- 1901–2012
- Based in
- Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States
- Marks listed
- 6
- Typical pieces
- vases, bowls, lamps, figural vases
The marks, by date
Each mark’s wording is written out as a transcription: the words and line breaks, not a picture of the mark. Where a source describes a mark instead of quoting it, the description is shown in italics.
Where: base
Two interlocking A's in a box (for Artus and Anne), plus 'Van Briggle', the year, a shape number and a Roman numeral. Pieces from these years are usually dated outright.
Where: base; design number below 'Colo Spgs'
Adds 'Colo Spgs' (sometimes spelled out as 'Colorado Springs'), which first appeared in 1906. Finisher numbers are placed on one or both sides of the AA logo.
Where: base
Usually only the AA logo and the year. Some 1915–1916 pieces also carry a shape number. Dated pieces from 1912 and 1921 are scarce.
Where: base, with logo and Van Briggle name
'U.S.A.' was added while the pottery was exporting. The base is typically sandy or buff-colored.
Where: base
Undated later production. From the 1940s to the 1960s it often carries finisher initials and batch numbers. Van Briggle stopped putting years on pieces after about 1920.
Where: base
From 2000 a V year code was added: V = 2000, V1 = 2001, V2 = 2002, and so on.
History
His wife Anne kept it going after he died in 1904, and won Paris Salon recognition for its Art Nouveau forms and matte glazes. Anne leased the business in 1912 and sold it in 1922. Production continued under later owners until the pottery closed in spring 2012.
Dating clues
- A year written on the base is normal for 1901 to about 1920. Later pieces usually have no year.
- 'Colo Spgs' first appeared in 1906, so a mark without it that has a date and Roman numeral is earlier.
- 'U.S.A.' in the mark points to 1922–1926.
- A V code (V, V1, V2...) means the piece was made in 2000 or later.
- Clay color on the base is used alongside the mark: a darker 'dirty' bottom in the late teens and 1920s, and sandy or buff clay later.
Other names on the marks
Van Briggle Art Pottery
Where sources disagree: The era boundaries shift by a year or two between sources: 1900–1907 vs 1901–1905 for the earliest dated marks, 1907–1912 vs 1908–1912 for the 'Colo Spgs' era, and 1913–1919 vs 1912–1921 for the logo-and-date era. The founding year is 1901 on Wikipedia but 1900 on vanbriggle.net. The later 'Colo. Spgs.' dating (1930s–1999) rests mostly on vanbriggle.net.
Sources
Marks help identify a maker and a date range, but they can’t prove a piece is genuine. Reproductions and later reissues can carry old marks. This entry isn’t an appraisal.