RARE FIND: The Roseville Pine Cone Ewer at Thistle Patch
The ewer glows in warm fall colors. Its smooth, matte glaze starts golden brown and melts into a dark brown base, while the inside of the neck and spout turns a deep forest green. A raised pine cone and curved pine needles wrap around the front, as if a branch had just been laid against the clay. The handle looks like a twig, with a rough, bark-like texture. A broad spout curves up and out from a slender neck, and a round base keeps the whole piece steady.
It is easy to see why a piece like this has been admired for generations!
Roseville Pottery was founded in 1890 in Roseville, Ohio, by J.F. Weaver. The company began by making sturdy household pieces like flower pots, then moved its headquarters to nearby Zanesville in 1898. Its decorative designs proved so popular that Roseville became one of the three major pottery makers in Ohio, alongside Rookwood and Weller. Today, Roseville pieces are sought after by collectors.
The Pine Cone design came out in 1935 and became Roseville's most successful, made in more than 75 different shapes. It was created under art director Frank Ferrell, who also gave us popular designs like Blackberry and Sunflower. Our ewer is known to collectors as shape 909-10 in brown, with its broad spout, slender neck, and branch handle. Roseville made its final designs in 1953, and its factory was bought by the Mosaic Tile Company in 1954, so every piece from this era is a little slice of Ohio history.
