RUSKIN POTTERY

The Ruskin Pottery was founded in 1898 by Edward Taylor and his son William Howson Taylor; the name ‘Ruskin’ was in honour of the writer, artist and art critic John Ruskin, as the Taylors agreed with Ruskin’s ideas about beauty and quality. Ruskin pottery is best known for its lustrous, almost iridescent glazes, which took £10,000 and three years of experimentation to perfect - the work was of extremely high quality, and the pottery became very popular at the time despite selling for high prices. Ruskin glazes can be divided into four types: soufflé, which has a mottled effect; lustre, a shiny, jewel-like glaze; crystalline, a cheaper, more mass-produced glaze, and flambé.

Ruskin pieces remain very collectable; the most desirable items are those decorated with the more complex glazes, such as lustre and soufflé, and good examples hold their value well. An added attraction of the early glazed pieces is that each one is unique, with slight variations of pattern. As with all pottery, the value of the individual item is largely dependent on the age, condition and rarity. There’s a strong demand for good, clean examples, with the soufflé and lustre glazes being probably the most sought after. Lustre glazes were produced from 1905 to 1925 in green, lilac, orange, lemon and the most desirable of all, kingfisher blue.

High Fired Ruskin Vase - sold for £660

RUSKIN POTTERY PRICES - SEARCH OUR ARCHIVES

On the right of this page you will see a few highlights of Ruskin Pottery items we've sold - to see more, including prices and dates, search our sold lot archives. 

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