Upper Midwest Art Pottery

Upper Midwest pottery is mostly an inexpensive market, and it is worth saying so plainly before you get your hopes up or throw anything away. Red Wing has a median of $100 at auction and North Dakota School of Mines $300. Nemadji has never sold above $400. The exceptions are real but specific, and Revere Auctions has sold the joint highest Upper Midwest result in the record, a Red Wing brushware bread crock at $7,000. We offer free auction estimates: send photographs including the base.

What These Makers Are Worth

Four names account for most of what turns up in Minnesota, Wisconsin and the Dakotas.

U.S. auction results, January 2018 through June 2026. All prices are hammer prices (before buyer’s premium), from U.S. auction results January 2018 through June 2026.

The Nemadji line is the one that surprises people. In 71 attempts across 37 different auction houses, no Nemadji lot has ever sold above $400. The swirled orange and brown vases sold at roadside stands for decades and there are a great many of them. If that is what you have, it is a keepsake rather than an asset, and there is nothing wrong with that.

Where the Exceptions Are

Signed North Dakota School of Mines by a named decorator. This is the one to look for. The University of North Dakota ran a ceramics programme from 1910, and pieces decorated by Julia Mattson or Flora Huckfield carry a real premium. Revere sold a Julia Mattson Buffalo pottery vase for $1,400 against a $300 category median, and the strongest results nationally are all named-decorator vases.

Early Red Wing stoneware with hand decoration. Not the mass-produced dinnerware. Large brushware and blue-decorated pieces from the stoneware era are the ones that reach four figures. Our $7,000 brushware bread crock is the joint highest Upper Midwest result in the file.

Red Wing advertising. The Hamm’s Beer bear pieces have their own collectors. We have sold two, at $1,300 and $950.

Julia Mattson for North Dakota School of Mines, Buffalo Vase, Sold $1,400 by Revere Auctions

Upper Midwest Pottery at Revere Auctions

Revere is in St. Paul, and this material comes through our Arts and Crafts and Americana auctions regularly.

Revere Auctions results. All prices are hammer prices (before buyer’s premium), from U.S. auction results January 2018 through June 2026.

We have sold only three North Dakota School of Mines lots, so we are not the deepest specialist in that name. Most Upper Midwest pottery that comes through here sells in the low hundreds, because that is what it is worth. Where we help is telling you the difference quickly, and without charging you for the answer.

Also From This Region

Two other Minnesota names sit outside this group and are worth much more. Warren MacKenzie studio pottery is a deep national market in its own right, and the Minneapolis Handicraft Guild produced Arts and Crafts copper and pottery that reaches four figures. If your shelf mixes them together, they should not be sold together.

Upper Midwest Art Pottery 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 Upper Midwest Art Pottery

The strongest results for Upper Midwest 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.

Related guides: art pottery values, the Minneapolis Handicraft Guild, Warren MacKenzie pottery, art pottery marks.

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

Upper Midwest Art Pottery: Frequently Asked Questions

Is Red Wing pottery worth anything?

Usually not much. The median for Red Wing pottery and stoneware at auction is $100, and only three of 408 lots sold since 2018 cleared $3,000. The exceptions are early hand-decorated stoneware and advertising pieces. Revere sold a large brushware bread crock for $7,000.

What is Nemadji pottery worth?

Very little. In 71 lots sold across 37 auction houses since 2018, no Nemadji piece has sold above $400 and the median is $75. The swirled orange and brown vases were sold at roadside stands for decades and are common.

How do I identify North Dakota School of Mines pottery?

Look for a circular cobalt mark reading UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA GRAND FORKS N.D., often with a decorator signature. Pieces signed by Julia Mattson or Flora Huckfield carry a clear premium over unsigned examples.

Who was Julia Mattson?

Julia Mattson was one of the principal decorators at the University of North Dakota ceramics programme, working there for decades from the 1920s. Her signed pieces are among the most sought-after North Dakota School of Mines pottery. Revere sold a Mattson Buffalo pottery vase for $1,400.

Where can I sell Minnesota pottery?

Revere Auctions is in St. Paul and handles Upper Midwest pottery through its Arts and Crafts and Americana auctions. Send photographs of the piece and the base for a free auction estimate, and we will tell you plainly whether it is worth selling at auction.

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