Vase, 1917

This crouching rabbit is iconic to the wares made by the Dedham Pottery. In business from 1896 to 1943, Dedham Pottery produced high-fired stone-ware characterized by a controlled and fine crackle glaze with thick cobalt blue border designs. Influenced by Arts and Crafts styles, these popular serving pieces primarily featured rabbits, but others imagery included elephants, dolphins, polar bears, chicks, swans, turtles, and ducks.

The Arts and Crafts movement emerged in the 1860s and 1870s in England, then the most industrialized country in the world. Theorists and designers promoted a return to an idealized past where artists and craftsmen collaborated to create beautiful and useful objects. Many of the movement's ideas spread to the United States by 1900. Here is a representative group of objects from our collection, featuring high-end to mass-market examples.

Notable women transformed the popular pastime of china painting into a profession during the late nineteenth century. They developed new tools and techniques, created associations, and taught others the art of china painting. Some went on to establish their own innovative potteries, ultimately giving rise to a new industry: art pottery. These artifacts highlight some remarkable stories of women in art pottery.