Vintage Wednesday: Van Briggle Pottery

There's a bevy of collectors who concentrate on what's generally known as "art pottery." This is a type of pottery that generally arose out of the arts and crafts period and often has natural motifs incorporated into the design. Among collectors, there are often favorite producers - you may have heard of Roseville or Weller. Probably the most recognizable and prolific of art potteries is McCoy pottery. Have you heard of something being "the real McCoy"? Well, many people say this is the root.

My favorite art pottery, however, is Van Briggle pottery. There's something about the shapes and the glazes (that give them color) that appeals to me. I love the long "art nouveau" lines of many of the pieces. And there are still artists producing original pieces in the pottery today.

The pottery was started in 1899 by a husband and wife, Artus and Anne Van Briggle, in Colorado Springs, Colorado. There's still a pottery with a showroom you can visit there. Many of the original designs are still produced today and they intend to begin reproducing some amazing decorative tiles if you're a fan of arts and crafts design.

And how do you tell it's a Van Briggle? Well, they're marked. If you turn them over, you'll usually find the double A mark along with the notation Van Briggle. Sometimes - depending on the date of the piece - you'll see Colo Spgs (or Colorado Springs), sometimes the piece will be dated and sometimes U.S.A. will be included.

But for me, it's often the shape and the glaze that gives a Van Briggle piece away. There's an old adage, "You'll know it when you see it." Given my love for Van Briggle, this is certainly true for me!