Owens Pottery Lines
Overview of artistic lines of the Owens Pottery Company
One of the greatest barriers to collecting vintage and antique Owens pottery is the lack of information. Most of the records were destroyed in fires, and no salesman catalogs have yet to surface. In general, we are left with a few advertisements and newspaper articles to glean what facts we can.
Although proper documentation is nearly non-existent, we do have large volumes of their product scattered in collections across the world. Owens was the third largest producer of pottery in Zanesville, shipping hundreds of thousands of pieces during their peak production years. Comparing the works which are available for inspection has been instrumental in categorizing their original lines.
Some collectors break lines into subsets, such as Utopian and Matt Utopian, and it is likely that such distinctions were made by Owens as a marketing mechanism. In fact, Utopian can be broken down into a half-dozen subsets, all under the overall heading of Utopian.
Identification of the lines produced by Owens Pottery is always a work in progress, and so it is important for collectors and dealers to make allowances for what we don't know.
Below are some of the lines produced by Owens with basic information about them.
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Aborigine
One of the last lines produced, Aborigine was introduced in 1907. Meant to imitate native American pottery styles, nearly 100 shapes and designs were produced.
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Alpine
Introduced in 1905, Alpine was a matt glaze with over-glaze decoration. The tops were lightly colored or white to simulate snow-capped mountains.
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Aqua Verde
Near the end of 1907, Owens introduced the Aqua Verde line. Glazed in a rich matt green, it appears as if each piece was uniquely sculpted. Among the rarest of the Owens Pottery.
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Cyrano
In 1898, Owens brought the Cyrano line to market. Typical of squeeze-bag designs of other companies, it was designed to compete with them.
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Feroza
1901 saw the introduction of the Feroza line. Created with 22 forms, the organic molded forms with a slightly metallic glaze are difficult to find today.
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Henri Deux
Introduced in 1900, the Henri Deux line was a departure from normal designs. These apparent art nouveau designs were supposedly reproductions of the original 16th century works.
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Lotus
Owens introduced their Lotus Line in 1906. Decorated over soft shaded colors such as gray, white, pink or blue, some of their best artists can be found exploring a variety of subjects.
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Matt Green
In 1905, Owens formally introduced their matt green line, although they had been producing several varieties of similar pottery for years under several other line names.
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Mission
Introduced in 1903, the Mission line came with wooden stands to emphasize the arts and crafts style of the pottery.
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Opalesce
Beginning in 1905, Owens introduced several lines of Opalesce: Opalesce, Opalesce Inlaid, and Opalesce Utopian. All of these focused on varieties of metallic glazes.
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Oriental
The 1898 Oriental line was very similar to the Cyrano line, and almost identical to Weller Turada. Unlike Cyrano, the beads are almost flat on the surface.
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Soudaneze
The Soudaneze line from 1907 is still popular with collectors. The smooth lines and art nouveau motifs against a gloss black background offer many interesting expressions.
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Utopian
Introduced in 1896, Utopian is by far the most commonly found Owens Pottery Line. Originally decorated over solid brown, many color variations followed throughout the years.
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