Pottery & Porcelain maker
Roseville Pottery Company marks
Roseville started in 1890 in Roseville, Ohio, making everyday earthenware before turning to art pottery.
- Active
- 1890–1953/1954
- Based in
- Roseville, Ohio; later Zanesville, Ohio, United States
- Marks listed
- 6
- Typical pieces
- vases, jardinieres, planters, bowls
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
Often paired with a line name. Die-impressed Rozane marks and applied wafer marks both occur on Rozane lines. 'RPCo' and 'Roseville Pottery Company' are also recorded for this period, but the sources don't say how they were applied.
Where: base, under the glaze
A blue underglaze ink 'Rv' script monogram, recorded on lines such as Carnelian I, Rosecraft Panel and Vintage.
Where: base or lower side
A small triangular black paper label, used on lines such as Futura and Imperial II. The wording on this label isn't quoted in the sources consulted.
Where: base or lower side
A silver or gold foil label, often shield-shaped, on lines such as Blackberry, Tourmaline, Baneda, Cherry Blossom and Sunflower. Many of these pieces have no mark in the clay, so once the label is lost the base is blank.
Where: base, molded into the piece with shape number and size
An impressed (sunken) script mark added to the molds of new lines. It often has no 'U.S.A.'. At a glance it can look raised.
Where: base, in relief, with shape number and size
A raised script mark in the mold. On genuine pieces it always included 'U.S.A.'. Chinese reproductions copy this mark (see lookalikes).
History
By 1910 the whole operation had moved to Zanesville, where it became known for molded vases and planters with raised floral patterns. The plant shut down in the early 1950s; sources give either 1953 or 1954.
Dating clues
- An unmarked Roseville piece is not unusual for the late 1920s to mid-1930s, when many pieces carried only a paper or foil label.
- A sunken (impressed) script mark points to the mid-1930s. A raised script 'Roseville U.S.A.' points to the late 1930s through the 1950s closure.
- Long-running patterns such as Pinecone can turn up unmarked, with the impressed mark, or with the raised mark, depending on when each piece was made.
Look-alikes and reproductions
- Chinese-made reproductions carrying the raised script 'Roseville' mark and a shape number came onto the market around 1996. Some lack 'U.S.A.' or show it only faintly. Others have unglazed interiors, white or sandy clay instead of buff, or colors never used on the original line (e.g. bright blue or mint green Blackberry).
Other names on the marks
Roseville Pottery; RPCo; Rozane
Where sources disagree: The two sources give different start dates for the mold marks. Wisconsin Pottery Association: impressed script 1932–1937, raised script from about 1937. Just Art Pottery: impressed 1936–1940, raised 1940–1954. Closing year is 1953 (WPA) or 1954 (Just Art Pottery).
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.