FAKES AND FORGERIES: ROSEVILLE POTTERY

Judith Coebly Plank Road #236

Commercial Roseville reproduction has been around since 1900’s – so beware when you buy pottery with a Roseville back stamp. Through research, you as a Quester can avoid a costly mistake. The following tips might help you determine if you have a real Roseville not just a piece of pottery made in Roseville, Ohio (or even China).

Look at the Back Stamp: Vintage Roseville after 1898 was made in Zanesville, Ohio not Roseville Ohio. Some sellers will imply that the back stamp “RRPPCO Roseville, Ohio” is the Vintage Roseville. IT IS Not. IT IS A FORGERY OR REPRODUCTION. All letters and marks in the originals from 1935-1954 have an equal height above the surface. From1910-1934, the fakes have a raised molded back stamp on some patterns like Jonquil. The original Jonquil had a paper label. Paper labels fall off; making research necessary. Is our piece of pottery real or fake? Roseville research books help with this quandary. Look at the R in the back stamp. If the R is straight, it is a repro. The genuine .Roseville has an R that slants slightly to the right. Again, beware. There are slant R’s on fake Roseville. Looking just at the mark only can be misleading, confusing and costly.
The glazing gives us another clue. The fakes can be seen in the glazing. Even with the proper raised “Roseville, USA” back stamp, the piece is a fake if the inside glaze is only around the top of the piece. Vintage Roseville is completely glazed inside from the top to the bottom. BEWARE! The new repos from China are completely glazed inside but they lack the raised “USA” in the back stamp. The copy has a rougher feel and a matte finish. The original will have a soft sheen.

Studying the paint helps us with our analysis. On the original Freesia Roseville wall pockets, there is no paint on the back. The copies are back painted. The paint is sloppy .There is more shading on the vintage Roseville.

Even the rims help us in our research. Original Roseville wall pockets have no raised rim around the edge. If yours does, it is a repro.
A Quester knows that one needs to study multiple criteria, such as back stamps, glaze, color and decorations. Hopefully, the time you took to look at some of these details will pay off, giving you a beautiful piece of vintage Roseville.

Sources available upon request.