Having grown up in Southern California during the 60’s it was typical to see samples of California Studio pottery in my friends homes.
Of course, our house had it’s share as well. From colorful dishes to fuzzy, big eyed creatures, to just plain ol’ dust collectors – mom adorned many corners of our house with these ‘modern’ pottery pieces.
As a Picker you can find the studio pottery still but it is getting harder and harder. Over time the pieces were broken or thrown out as Grandma’s junk. So, whenever I find a piece of California pottery I get excited – and nostalgic. I instantly grab it even if it’s an old, heavily crazed, and chipped piece.
So, it was really exciting when I found, not one – but four very nice pieces from Southern California – and best yet; the Pasadena studios.
I found the pieces in a dark basement on a built in bookshelf . They were part of the ‘Bar/Rec Room’ Decor of an 80+ year old woman. I spotted first the one – then noticed it was a pair – then lower down the shelf another set of busts; male and female.
The first set is from the Roselane factory. Roselane Pottery was a husband & wife operation owned by William & Georgia Fields. Started in their home in 1938, the studio grew and moved locations several times as they grew and the California landscape changed. They started by selling figurines to local florists. Roselane grew a large operation of 25 employees during it’s hay day in the mid-forties. William Fields died in 1973 and Mrs. Fields sold the business. During the following years operations were moved to Long Beach. It closed doors in 1977.
This pair of busts was produced during the 1940s as part of the “Chinese Modern” line.
If you would like to see more photos – or bid on them I have them up for auction in my eBay store here.
The next pair is my favorite! This very stylized woman and man typify everything I think of about the ’40s! The woman figure has a paper sticker still attached. Although I could barely make out more than the word ‘Pasadena’ when I picked them up – I knew they were coming home with me.
After a closer look in a magnifying glass and brighter light I was able to make out that she was called “Cali Cali” and produced by Sylvan Ceramics. I don’t know much about Sylvan. There doesn’t seem to be much information either online or in my California Pottery book. About the only thing I was able to learn is that the company started 1943 and that they produced decorative pieces.
If you know more about Sylvan Ceramics, I’d love to know more – please feel free to comment below.
The Cali Cali set is up for auction this week – you can bid on them here.