Bowl

Fulper Pottery Company

1910s (ca.)

2 3/4 x 10 3/4 inches (d)

Glazed stoneware

1998.31.2

Gift of David Lowden

On base, stamped “Fulper” in oval.

Fulper Pottery’s success in the art pottery market was due largely to decisions made early on by William H. Fulper II, who recognized the popularity of the new Arts and Crafts aesthetic, and the staggering expense of imported Asian wares. In crafting what became the Vasekraft line, Fulper pulled inspiration from multiple international sources he encountered. He looked to English artist-potter Charles Fergus Binns, who was the director of the Royal Worcester Porcelain Works in England before coming to America in 1893. Binns then worked with the Trenton Technical School of Science and Art—near Fulper’s Flemington plant—suggesting the two may have worked together at one point. Another source of inspiration for Fulper’s glazes and forms came from Oriental pottery, which Fulper knew through his own collection and the Chinese porcelains of Benjamin Altman, which were bequeathed to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1914. Fulper’s hiring decisions were also critical to the company’s success: Master Potter John Kunsman, Chief Designer John Ogden Winner Kugler, and Head Mold-Maker John Tierney played key roles in the beginnings of Fulper’s art pottery line.

–Emily Kress