Rookwood pottery vase with decorator mark, sold by Revere Auctions

American Art Pottery Marks

How to Identify Your Pottery

Interested in selling art pottery?

Nearly every American art pottery marked its work, usually on the base, and the mark is the fastest way to find out what you have. This page lists the marks you are most likely to meet, what each one means, and what that maker typically sells for, so you can go from a symbol on a base to a realistic number in one step. If you would rather just ask, we offer free auction estimates: photograph the whole base, not only the mark.

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How to Photograph a Mark

Most of the questions we get could be answered from one better photograph. Three things help.

Shoot the whole base, not a close-up of the mark alone. Shape numbers, size letters, decorator initials and date codes usually sit apart from the maker mark, and they are frequently the part that sets the value.

Use raking light. Impressed and incised marks disappear under a flat flash. Light from the side, low and across the surface, makes them readable.

Photograph paper labels before removing anything. A partial label is evidence. A removed label is nothing.

Base of a Warren MacKenzie pot showing the small impressed stamp near the foot ring

A maker mark in situ. The impressed stamp sits near the foot ring, not in the centre of the base, which is why a photograph of the whole base is more useful than a close-up.

Marks You Are Most Likely to Find

Maker	What the mark looks like	Typical value
Rookwood	A reversed R over a P with flames around it. One flame added per year from 1887, so 14 flames is 1900. From 1901 the flames stop at 14 and Roman numerals below give the year (XXVI is 1926). Shape number and glaze letter sit below.	$150 to $600
Newcomb College	An N inside a C, with a decorator mark, shape number, clay-body letter and often a registration number.	$1,200 to $3,500
Grueby	An impressed circular mark, commonly a lotus blossom with the firm name around it. Decorator initials often incised nearby. On tiles the mark is on the back.	$400 to $3,000
Teco	The word TECO impressed, usually arranged vertically, with a model number.	$300 to $900
Roseville	Early work often unmarked or paper-labelled. Later work impressed “Roseville U.S.A.” with a shape number and size. Raised script marks on reproductions are usually softer.	$75 to $200
Weller	Impressed or ink-stamped “Weller”, sometimes “Weller Pottery” in script.	$100 to $250
Van Briggle	A conjoined double A inside a square, with “Van Briggle” and often a date. Undated later pieces are far more common than dated early ones.	$100 to $300
Fulper	A vertical racetrack-shaped ink or impressed mark reading “Fulper”.	$150 to $400
Warren MacKenzie	A small impressed stamp. Some pots carry it twice. He stopped signing later in life, so an unstamped pot is not necessarily wrong.	$200 to $600
North Dakota School of Mines	A circular cobalt mark reading “University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, N.D.”, often with a decorator signature.	$200 to $500
Adelaide Robineau	A conjoined AR cipher, excised or incised into a circular device rather than stamped, very often with the year directly beneath it. The body is white, dense porcelain.	$1,100 to $9,500

Typical value is the usual auction range for that maker, not a ceiling or a floor. All prices are hammer prices (before buyer’s premium), from U.S. auction results January 2018 through June 2026.

What the Mark Does Not Tell You

A mark identifies the pottery. It does not, on its own, set the price. Three things routinely matter more.

The decorator. At Rookwood and Newcomb the initials beside the maker mark can change the value by a factor of ten or more.

The date. Early work is generally worth far more than late work at the same pottery, and many marks encode the year if you know how to read them.

Whether the mark is genuine. Roseville in particular has been reproduced at scale. Reproduction marks tend to look soft or raised where the original is crisply impressed, and the body is often lighter. If a mark looks too clean for the wear on the pot, it is worth a second opinion.

An unmarked pot is also not a dead end. Form, glaze, foot and body all carry information, and a great deal of genuine art pottery left the factory with only a paper label.

American Art Pottery Marks Appraisals

An auction estimate and a formal appraisal answer different questions.

A free auction estimate tells you what a piece would likely sell for at auction. It costs nothing and it is usually enough to decide whether to sell. Send photographs including the base and we will respond with a range.

A formal written appraisal is a signed document stating a value for a stated purpose: insurance, estate settlement and probate, or charitable donation. It is a paid service written to a different standard of value, and insurance appraisals in particular are normally higher than the auction estimate for the same piece.

Revere Auctions provides both through our appraisal and valuation services team. If you are not sure which you need, ask for the free auction estimate first.

How to Sell American Art Pottery Marks

The strongest results for art pottery come at auction, where national and international collectors bid against each other. Revere Auctions offers free, no-obligation auction estimates: send photos and dimensions and our specialists respond with a current market valuation and a recommendation on how to sell. Consigned works are professionally photographed, cataloged, and marketed through our fine art auctions to a worldwide bidder base, and we regularly arrange shipping for consignors across the country. If you need a formal written valuation for insurance or estate purposes, our appraisal and valuation services team can help; you can also read more about how selling at auction works.

Reviewed by the fine art specialists at Revere Auctions, St. Paul, Minnesota.

American Art Pottery Marks: Frequently Asked Questions

How do I identify pottery by the mark on the bottom?

Photograph the entire base in raking light so impressed marks are readable, then match the mark against the maker. Look for a shape number, size letter, date code and decorator initials as well as the maker mark, because those frequently matter more to the value than the maker name alone.

What do Rookwood flame marks mean?

Rookwood used a reversed R over a P with flames around it. From 1887 one flame was added each year, so fourteen flames indicates 1900. From 1901 the flame count stopped at fourteen and Roman numerals below the mark give the year, so XXVI is 1926.

How can I tell real Roseville from a reproduction?

Reproduction marks tend to be raised or soft where an original is crisply impressed, and reproduction bodies are often lighter in weight. Early genuine Roseville was frequently unmarked or carried only a paper label. If the mark looks newer than the wear on the pot, get a second opinion.

Does unmarked pottery have any value?

Yes. A great deal of genuine art pottery left the factory with only a paper label, and form, glaze, foot and body all help identify a maker. Unmarked pieces are harder to sell at the top of a maker’s range, but they are not worthless.

Who can identify my pottery mark?

Revere Auctions offers free auction estimates and identification. Photograph the whole base in raking light, include the height, and our specialists will tell you the maker where we can and what it is likely to bring at auction.

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