|
McCoy
Pottery...a
timeless design
|
|
By:
Laura Starr
|
|
|
Imagine having a
design that was so perfect, so beautiful, and so desirable that
other pottery companies felt compelled to duplicate your
work. Several potteries today are doing exactly
that! They appears to be relying on the expertise
and talent of the designers who worked many years ago at McCoy
Pottery. Although some are doing this to
intentionally fool buyers into thinking the pieces are the real
McCoy, others are doing so simply to bring back a popular
design. |
|
|
 |
|
(Click
to enlarge photo) |
|
Left:
Fioriware pitcher vase, marked with Fioriware
stamp (see below) Right:
Original McCoy Pitcher Vase, marked #619 McCoy USA |
|
On a recent visit to
Zanesville, Ohio, we stopped at Fioriware, a pottery well
known for their unusual mosaic tile pillars in the
parking lot! Their original
works are exquisite! Their attention to detail
brings the reality of each piece to a new height. Yet they still find a need to
copy the designs of one of the masters in the pottery
business.......McCoy.
While there, we found six pieces that
were made either identical or in the likeness of vintage
McCoy Pottery pieces. Below you will find a list
of these items.
|
|
1. Feather
Bowl (At right)
2. Pitcher Vase (show above)
3. Floraline Basket with flowers
4. Milk Pitcher - cows embossed on sides
5. Grape stoneware pitcher
6. Simple round planter |
The
colors that Fioriware uses are completely different than the
original McCoys. And Fioriware does not in any way attempt
to pass these pieces off as the real McCoy.
|
 |
|
Each piece they make is CLEARLY
marked on the bottom with the Fioriware Logo. (See photo
at left.) These are not considered
reproductions, but rather "look-a-likes".
Although
generally more well accepted, some collectors still become
furious with companies that do this. Not me. I think
we should look at it as a tribute to the pottery we have all
grown to love so much! However, I often wonder if the
companies making these look-a-likes are doing themselves a
terrible injustice, and showing their lack of confidence in
their own original work by finding it necessary to
replicate proven designs of the past.
|
|
I have seen a large
selection of Fioriware original designs. They are
beautiful. They have a uniqueness and flare that sets them
apart from other potteries today. Yet, they still copy the
McCoy artists from long ago. I guess this only proves that
the designs of McCoy Pottery were not only beautiful, but
timeless.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
For more information on reproductions, look-a-likes and
fakes, please be sure to
visit our reproduction alert page!
|
