adjacent clay. The thin slip is then emptied from the center of the molds, leaving a shell of uniform thickness, which is allowed to stand a while longer before being removed.
The bodies are made of clays found mainly in the Ohio Valley, though samples are being constantly sent to Mr. Joseph Bailey the superintendent, from all parts of the country. The clays mostly used are a red variety from Buena Vista, Ohio; yellow from Ironton, Ohio; and a whitish or cream-colored clay from Chattanooga—artificially tinted bodies being also used to some extent. The glazing, however, is the most distinctive characteristic of the Rookwood Pottery, which, when applied to the tinted
Fig. 29.—Group of Rookwood Vases.
bodies, produces the effect of rich tones of black, yellow, green, red, brown, and amber, harmoniously blended, of great depth and strength. A number of competent artists are constantly employed m beautifying the wares, the decorations being entirely underglaze. Mr. Kataro Shirayamadani, a Japanese painter of the best school, is doing some of the finest work in Oriental methods. Mr. A. R. Valentien, Mr. M. A. Daly, and others rank among the best American decorators in their particular lines. The above engraving will give a fair idea of some of the forms of vases produced, but no adequate conception of the great beauty of the glazing can be conveyed in black and white.
It is not generally known that the Rookwood Pottery has produced varieties of ware other than the richly glazed pottery which has recently become so familiar through its exhibition in the prominent art-stores of the country. In the earlier years, commencing about 1881, cream-colored ware, with blue prints of
