Rago Auctions

Experiments with porcelain had begun in America in the 1730s but even into the mid-19th century the medium continued to be overshadowed by more accessible redwares and stoneware. Throughout those years, American porcelain styles and shapes were by and large dictated by prevailing English and French styles, thanks in part to the employment of immigrant craftsmen. American ceramics manufacturers saw the Centennial as their chance to elevate their wares and capture a larger part of the market; in preparation, firms across the country created the National Potters’ Association in 1875, resolving in their first meeting that “American potters shall make a fine display at the United States Centennial Exhibition, to exhibit to the world at large the extent to which the ceramic art has been carried by American Manufacturers.” Among the most important of these firms was Union Porcelain Works.

Based in the Greenpoint section of Brooklyn, Union Porcelain Works had been in operation for about thirty years. By the 1870s it was one of the leading porcelain manufacturers in the United States and held the distinction of being the first in the country to make true, hard-paste porcelain. Prior to the Centennial, the company’s focus was primarily utilitarian wares, table services, doorknobs, and keyhole covers but, in preparation for the exhibition, owner Thomas Carll Smith hired German-born sculptor Karl L.H. Müller around 1874 to design exceptional—and decidedly “American”—works for display. Müller studied with Pierre-Jean David d’Angers and Francois Rude in Paris before immigrating to the United States in 1850. Soon after arriving he exhibited a sculptural group at the National Academy of Design and the 1853 Exhibition of Art and Industry, and by 1870 he was hired to teach clay modeling at the Cooper Union.

Müller's creations for the Centennial were nothing short of a triumph. He designed two monumental 40-inch pedestals, each consisting of four separate pieces, atop which sat his Century vases in an altogether remarkable combination of classical allusions and American historicism and patriotism. The columns feature classical Greek and Roman motifs with Wedgwood-like low relief scenes inspired by legends of Electra and Orestes. The two Century vases (now held at The Brooklyn Museum and the High Museum of Art, Atlanta) that crowned these columns, however, were a celebration of American history and industry. Over 20 inches tall, their classic shape is thoroughly Americanized with large, North American bison head handles and European decorative techniques are applied to unmistakably American subjects. Each features a bisque profile portrait of George Washington and six biscuit relief panels depicting events from early American history, a gold eagle against a rich blue ground, eight triangular polychrome enamel vignettes of American progress, and smaller busts of other native species like the bear and ram. Disappointingly, no photographs exist of what must have been a spectacular booth display, but a contemporary description of the Union Porcelain Works installation from the May 1876 Crockery and Glass Journal provides an idea of its impact:

At two corners of the large glass case are pedestals upon which a classic story is told in bas-relief. These support a pair of vases upon whose bases, also in bas-relief, we find Penn treating with the Indians, a log cabin with the early settler, ax in hand, resting from his toil, and the story of the tea-riot in Boston harbor, and a soldier standing by his cannon. Above these there are some representative paintings of the progress of the arts. The telegraph is illustrated by a pole upon which a workman is placing the last of a number of wires; the steamer, a sewing machine and a reaper are also shown… When visitors examine this display, they will see what can be done in art pottery on this side of the water.

Union Porcelain Works went on to exhibit the Century vases at the American Institute Fair in New York in both 1877 and 1879, and they became an emblem for the factory throughout the remainder of the century and into the next. Their popularity led to the creation of a number of smaller examples, including three large and approximately twelve to fourteen smaller, none of which are as profusely decorated as the Centennial pair. The present lot is an exceptional example of the small version and similar to one held in LACMA's permanent collection. It retains the George Washington relief portrait, bison handles, and biscuit relief panels, accompanied by vibrantly colored polychrome enamel decoration of grape clusters and stylized, classicizing leaves in pastel pinks and purples. The Century Vase is perhaps one of the most important ceramic creations of the late 19th century in the western world. Designed by an immigrant, made of an ancient medium, and combining European and ancient Greek and Roman styles with the history and patriotism of a nascent, battered yet eager country, it remains a symbol of American ingenuity, creativity, and industrial excellence during a time of societal upheaval and uncertainty surrounding the country’s future.

Sources:

Frelinghuysen, Alice Cooney. American Porcelain 1770-1920. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1989.

Frelinghuysen, Alice Cooney, Martin Eidelberg, and Adrienne Spinozzi. American Art Pottery: The Robert A. Ellison Jr. Collection. Yale University Press, New Haven and London, 2018.


Examples of Century vases in permanent collections:

The Brooklyn Museum (Centennial Exhibition example)

High Museum of Art, Atlanta (Centennial Exhibition example)

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (small version)

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (small version, undecorated)

Smithsonian National Museum of American History (large version)

Princeton University Museum of Art (small version, undecorated)

Los Angeles County Museum of Art (small version)