For Sale is a wonderful piece of Art Pottery made by the Terra Cotta Tile Company (TECO) of Terra Cotta, Illinois which was near Chicago. I have a beautiful Matte Green Orb Bud Vase. This vase is a nice cabinet size as it stands about 4 1/2" tall and is 4 3/4" in diameter at its widest point. The top opening is 1 3/8" in diameter outside measurement.

The vase is considered to be in excellent condition as there are no cracks, nicks, chips or dings. The piece is signed twice on the bottom with Teco's infamous "T" with the "eco" underneath the right side of the T. There is also the numbers "25" written in green glaze. This form also has the indented ring where this mark lies. This is the sign of an Original Teco as the Fakes do not have this same bottom. The exterior bottom underside edge is ground smooth and is very similar to Hampshire Pottery's method of finishing the pieces of pottery.

Teco exemplifies pottery of the "Prairie School" Arts and Crafts movement of which Frank Lloyd Wright made so popular. In 1886 the Gates Pottery was established as a subsidiary with William D. Gates as its president. Gates used the facilities to experiment with clays and glazes in an effort to design a line of Art Pottery which led to the introduction of Teco Pottery (TErra COtta) in 1902. This is a quality piece of Art Pottery made by one of the Arts and Crafts Movement most important Potters. Teco competed heavily against Grueby and Fulper for this once flourishing market.

This is a rather hard to find shape as the collectors don't let these go. This piece of Teco is known as Shape # 25. This piece of Teco is considered early as it was made, Circa 1902-1910.

Antique Porcelain & Pottery
Antique Vases