ROOKWOOD 1321 JAR

ROOKWOOD 1321 JAR


The Rookwood 1321 jar is a small pottery jar that was made by the Rookwood Pottery Company. The 1321 is the mold number that this incredible little clay jar came from. The height of the jar is about 4 inches and the width is about 3 ½ inches. This mold pattern consists of a small rimmed jar with a lid and a small inner lid. The outer lid of the Rookwood 1321 jar is embroidered with dainty little flowers that surround the rim of the lid. The use of floral decorations was commonly used on this type of jar mold. The markings on the bottom of the Rookwood 1321 jar will help to identify the many attributes of its origin.

The Rookwood Pottery Company was located in Cincinnati, Ohio in the year 1879. Maria Longworth Nichols Storer was the founder of the company. One of the many employees that Maria hired was Laura Fry. Laura Fry invented the patent in 1884 for the air brush blending process that was used on many of the Rookwood pottery pieces. The air brush styling was used to blend the many colors into the pottery. One of the first unique pottery lines made by Rookwood was the Standard Ware in 1884. The Standard Ware is a brown pottery that has an underglaze slip. In the following year 1885, Karl Langenbeck was hired as the chemist to supervise the mixing of the clay to make the perfect pottery clay used in the Rookwood 1321 jar. In 1894 the Sea Green and Iris lines were being produced and in 1904 the Vellum. Also the Ombroso in 1910 and the Soft Porcelain was the next arriving in the pottery line being made.

Many of the production pottery came from the molds that were being used in the 20th century. One of the markings on the Rookwood pottery may be a reverse RP design. The first of many markings on the bottom of the Rookwood 1321 Jar. The reserve RP monogram was introduced in the year 1886 and a flame point was included above the RP for each additional year until 1900. After 1900, the Roman numerals were used below the RP to indicate the year that each piece of pottery was made. Letters were molded into the pottery pieces to signify the types of clays that were being used. A letter G was for ginger, R for red, O for olive, Y is yellow, W is white and S is for sage green. The Rookwood 1321 jar is almost always a signed piece of pottery.

By the year 1904 the common use of the Standard Ware line were starting to diminish in popularity. The Matt finishes and Vellum glazes were the more popular as the company continued to grow. Both of these finishes are used on the Rookwood 1321 jar. The Rookwood Company was expanding to large architectural murals, tiles and large wall plaques. By the 1920’s the pottery was being made in master molds with the artist’s initials. The matt finish was largely used to help lower the cost of their production. With hard times setting in and World War II the Rookwood Company was in financial troubles. By 1967 the Rookwood pottery was forced to close its doors. With the closing of the Rookwood Company and the pottery no longer being made it only helped to increase the value of the Rookwood 1321 Jar.

As we look back to the history of the Rookwood 1321 jar it is easy to see how this beautiful small jar has become a true treasure to possess. With all the many colors and different finishes that are used to individualize this antique piece of pottery. The high value is a small price to pay for a work of art from some of the masters of the pottery industry from a time long ago. It would be a treat to say that I have a Rookwood 1321 jar setting in my display cabinet.