The Rare Pottery Brand Rich In History That Can Be Incredibly Valuable

When it comes to choosing pottery, it's important to find pieces that match your design aesthetic and personal style. For more functional pieces, buying earthenware from your local home goods store may suffice. To decorate with pottery in your home, a trip to your local flea market or thrift store can guide you to a one-of-a-kind piece of pottery that may have more value than you think — even if the price tag doesn't initially reflect that. Among these rare and valuable vintage pottery brands is Newcomb Pottery.

Newcomb's story begins in Tulane, New Orleans, with a move to bring art programs to Tulane University. In 1886, Newcomb College opened its doors as the first female coordinate college; eight years later, Newcomb Pottery emerged from the college's arts and crafts curriculum. This not only helped bring the arts and crafts movement Stateside, but also played a pivotal role in helping women acquire more skills and vocational training at a time when female job and career choices were limited, if not completely nonexistent. 

From 1894 through 1945, Newcomb Pottery became a popular pottery brand, with each piece thrown, designed, and decorated by the coed students at Newcomb College – though most of the designing and decorating was done by women. The invaluable skillset learned by women during that time means that these are considered rare and valuable pieces today. Newcomb Pottery items sell for many thousands of dollars, with some items pricing up to as much as $7,000.

Playing a key role in both American art history and women's history, it can be very difficult to find a Newcomb Pottery item outside of a museum exhibition. If you're on the hunt for a Newcomb piece, however, there are certain attributes that make them stand out. As all Newcomb Pottery items were handcrafted from start to finish, they can often be found with distinct markings on the bottom. These will display the initials or specific markings used to represent the artist and thrower, as well as a Newcomb College insignia, which is often depicted as the letter "N" contained inside a larger letter "C."

As for overall design and style, Newcomb Pottery pieces consist of varying types of ceramics and clayware, including vases and bowls. Pieces typically featured muted, earth-toned colors with matte glazes. Blues and greens were prominent colors on Newcomb pieces, providing a great backdrop for the nature-inspired designs that were often painted and featured on them. Most Newcomb artists took influence from Japanese-inspired spaces and art styles, but also found inspiration in the world around them. Vases and other pieces from Newcomb Pottery are likely to depict flowers, plants, and even animals native to the American South.