American Arts & Crafts

Potter Studio

Hand-Carved White Jade & Brass

Bookends

Ca. 1915-1924

This rare pair of elegant bookends by the famous Potter Studio is a very bright example of an object in the pure Arts and Crafts movement tradition - the perfect rendering, the conciseness of design, the severity and the refined simplicity of the lines of the brass parts; as well as the use of contrasting romantic elements - in this case, beautifully hand-carved white jade medallions, depicting Paradise birds surrounded by flowers.

 Dimensions:

Height: 5 1/2"         Length: 7"         Width: 4"

Both bookends are in excellent antique condition: the brass parts have original intact patina with no scratches or imperfections; the hand-carved white jade medallions are in perfect condition with no brakes or cracks. Each of the bookends is hallmarked "Potter Studio" (please refer to the Potter Studio hallmark table below).

Horace E. Potter (1873 - 1948)

Horace Ephraim Potter was born into a prosperous Cleveland family in 1873…. Potter began his studies [at the Cleveland School of Art (CSA)] in 1894, graduating in June 1898…. After graduation from CSA, Potter embarked upon a year of study with Amy Sacker at the Cowles School of Art in Boston. Potter exhibited in [the Boston Society of Arts and Crafts'] second annual exhibition  in Copley Hall in April 1899, and at the conclusion of his studies received a master's degree, specializing in metal­work. Returning to Cleveland, he taught at the Cleveland School of Art from 1900 to 1909, giving classes in decorative design and historic ornament.

While teaching, Potter established a studio in downtown Cleveland. In 1905 he moved to his family's farm on the edge of the city, converting a chicken coop where he and CSA classmates Wilhelmina Stephan and Ferdinand Burgdorff designed and made silver and jewelry…. Potter maintained strong ties with Boston, becoming a "craftsman" member of the Society of Arts and Crafts in 1907 and attaining master classification the following year.

Potter spent four and a half months in England and Europe in the spring and summer of 1907, visiting Ashbee in August…. When Potter returned from his European trip in 1907, it was clear that his experience of Ashbee's Guild of Handicraft had confirmed his belief that the creative spirit was best nurtured when artists worked together. Moving to a series of locations on Euclid Avenue between 1910 and 1928, Potter expanded his space and founded Potter Studio.

Potter may have been attempting to recreate the interdisciplinary atmosphere of Ashbee's guild by opening his premises to other artists as well. He employed fellow graduates and former students of the Cleveland School of Art, and welcomed artists in other mediums with lodging and studio space. R. Guy Cowan, the founder of Cowan Pottery, came to Cleveland in 1908 to establish a ceramics program at the city's innovative Technical High School. Potter became Cowan's landlord and supported his endeavors. Cowan founded his own business in 1913, but Potter purchased studio-made vessels as early as 1909 and embellished them with silver or pewter lids.

Marrying fellow silversmith Florence Loomis in 1914, he went on to found Potter & Bentley Studios in 1928, and Potter & Mellen in 1933."

In 1928, Gurdon W. Bentley and Potter became partners, moved the shop to its current location, and renamed it Potter Bentley Studios.  The new shop expanded to sell items such as china and garden accessories.  Bentley dissolved the partnership in 1933, and that year Louis Mellen joined the company, which was renamed to its present Potter and Mellen, Inc.

Horace E. Potter died in 1948,and in 1967, Louis Mellen sold the firm to both Frederick Miller,a renowned designer & silversmith, and Jack Schlundt. Together both maintained the tradition of hand-wrought jewelry and hollowware.

In 1989, Ellen Stirn Mavec purchased Potter and Mellen, Inc. which remains in its same location at 10405 Carnegie Avenue. Ellen has continued the tradition of excellence in craftsmanship by hiring only the finest jewelers to work in the studios, as well as highlighting gift-ware and antiques, her personal expertise.

Arts and Crafts movement

The Arts and Crafts movement was an international movement in the decorative and fine arts that began in Britain and flourished in Europe and North America between 1880 and 1910, emerging in Japan in the 1920s.

It stood for traditional craftsmanship using simple forms, and often used medieval, romantic, or folk styles of decoration. It advocated economic and social reform and was essentially anti-industrial.

It had a strong influence on the arts in Europe until it was displaced by Modernism in the 1930s, and its influence continued among craft makers, designers, and town planners long afterwards.

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