Art Deco - Ceramics & Glass

Ceramics
For many people, 1920s and 1930s pottery is synonymous with Art Deco and the names of Clarice Cliff and Susie Cooper automatically spring to mind. Whilst they are the most famous of the pottery designers, there were many others producing stunning work. Amongst these was Frank Lloyd Wright who produced distinctive geometric designs on fine porcelain for the Japanese company, Noritake, and the Viennese company, Goldscheider, whose finely-modelled ceramic statues of women are delightful (see picture above). Other companies produced innovative and popular designs including Poole Pottery, Carlton and Shelley, all of which are highly collectable today. 

Clarice Cliff
Clarice Cliff is probably the most collected of the Art Deco ceramic designers and Bizarre is her most famous range of pottery. She started work with A.J. Wilkinson's Royal Staffordshire Pottery of Burslem in 1916. There she trained until, in 1927, the company gave her a studio and a team of painters and from there she designed her Bizarre range which became such an outstanding success. Her work is characterised by its geometric shapes, bright colours and the bandings of colour. 

Clarice Cliff pottery is collected by pattern and the most geometric shapes are highly desirable. Opinion about the quality of her work is divided. Obviously collectors love it, other people dislike it and believe it is over-valued both financially and aesthetically. However, nobody can deny that Clarice Cliff made a great impact on the design of ceramics in the 20th century.

Susie Cooper
Susie Cooper was a contemporary of Clarice Cliff and she also joined a pottery company in Burslem, A.E. Gray & Co, where she worked until 1929. In that year she set up her own company which merged with another company in 1932. Her first designs experimented with freehand painting but, during the 1930s, they were done by lithograph or transfer. Susie Cooper's work was less obviously geometric in shape and she experimented with decorative techniques and patterns. Her use of colour is more subdued and autumnal than that used by Clarice Cliff. The most sought after of her work was made before the Second World War. Care must be taken when buying because some pre-war designs were made again later.

Perfume Ii
Buy this Art Print at AllPosters.com

Glass
Whilst René Lalique is the best-known of the Art Deco glass designers, there were many others, especially those who resurrected the popularity of pressed glass which had suffered a downturn during the early years of the 20th century. The characteristics of Art Deco glass are the geometric shapes, opalescence and the use of lacquer for decoration. The best designs have a free-flowing elegance of form.

René Lalique
René Lalique started his career as an innovative designer of Art Nouveau jewellery. He turned his attention to glass design at the beginning of the 20th century and he pioneered the techniques of mass producing art glass in his factories. He designed an enormous range of items including car mascots, perfume bottles, lamps, vases, tableware, statuettes and jewellery which replaced precious stones with glass. His glass panels were also incorporated into buildings, ocean liners and furniture.  

Lalique died in 1945 although the company he founded continues to this day. However, the most collectable and valuable Lalique glass is that produced during his lifetime and these are signed R. Lalique rather than just Lalique. Extreme care must be taken when buying a piece that purports to be Lalique: numerous fakes have been made, some in the 1920s and 1930s, others since his death. Condition is extremely important: to hold their value, generally speaking, pieces must be perfect. Check the bases of all pieces and the rims of vases or bottles for chips, inspect the piece carefully to make sure that it has not been altered in any way, for example, handles removed or chips ground out.

Other Glass Designers
The French glass-making company, Baccarat, was founded in 1764. During the Art Deco period it produced perfume bottles for parfumiers like Jean Patou, Elizabeth Arden, Guerlain and Lenthéric. The bottles of the period were geometric in form, many with elaborate stoppers. Czech glass-making factories also produced  perfume bottles. These are increasingly collectable and, whilst not as expensive as many French makers, prices are rising. Of the other French designers of the period, Marius-Ernest Sabino is amongst the best-known. Much of his work was an imitation of the great Lalique but of inferior quality. However, some of his work stands the test of time and is collectable. The poorer work tends to be ill-proportioned and clumsy so, if buying a piece by Sabino, look for elegance of design and synchronicity between the form of the work and the decoration. Other notable designers of the period include Maurice Marinot, André Thuret and Gabriel Argy Rousseau.

Copyright © 2001 by Carol Fisher