Roseville Blue Zephyr Lilly Vase

Pottery : Roseville

 

This example at first glance appears to be a vintage double handled Roseville Pottery Zephyr Lily Vase. It measures 12 1/2'' tall by 5 1/2'' wide at the top of the vase and it is marked on the bottom "Roseville 139-12." It is a reproduction and not authentic Roseville.

Although in most instances a mark is not the recommended first step for pottery or porcelain identification in this case it can help to know that the word "Roseville" (without "USA") was used on that companies pottery only from 1932-1937. The Zephyr Lily pattern was produced in 1946 so "USA" should be expected to rest in the gap between the pottery name and the mold number. The reason this gap exists is due to the fact that imports from another country, in this case China, cannot legally be imported bearing the indication that they were made in the United States (USA). So, although an authentic piece of Roseville was undoubtedly used to create the mold for reproduction, 'USA' was removed from the mold before it was used to make the copies.

The glaze on this example is dead flat and monotone in color, there is no shading with a secondary color like that exhibited on carefully produced originals. The clay body is dead white, as well. Vintage Roseville pottery was made of a more cream to buff color clay.

There is no leaf definition on the handles of this piece, which look perfectly flat and undefined, and the shapes of flower petals and leaves also lack proper detail. The body is smooth where circular designs should be present. If compared with a good quality image of a real Roseville piece from a reliable source, the lack of these types of fine details can be easily noted.

The Fake marks section on the Roseville page (see the link in our links section) illustrates the underside of a fake blue Zephyr Lily example almost identical to the underside of this vase. Even the same imperfections in the bottom below the numbers, in the same place as imperfections seen on this piece can be observed. Undoubtedly the same mold made both pieces, albeit one later than the other since the imperfections are not exactly the same.

This type of item can be purchased for a very nominal price from reproduction wholesale sources.

Item ID: 2007RP0008