Wheatley Pottery
Wheatley Art Pottery was the product of Cincinnati potter Thomas Jerome Wheatley, who began potting in the 1880′s. His first product was Cincinnati Limoges-style pottery, made in competition with Maria Longworth Nichols of the Rookwood Pottery and Mary Louise McLaughlin. It seems that all three claimed to invented the Cincinnati Limoges technique and lawsuits followed. This period of Wheatley’s work is of historical interest, but fails to distinguish itself from the competition. By the end of the decade Wheatley was gone from Cincinnati, ending up at the Weller Pottery in Zanesville, Ohio in the late 1890′s.
Wheatley’s pottery returned to Cincinnati circa 1903 when he established the Wheatley Pottery Co. on Reading Road. There he began producing matte glaze pottery wares in green, yellow and blue to compete with the new craze in Art Pottery, and particularly with the Arts & Crafts style championed by Grueby in Boston.
Wheatley borrowed forms conspicuously from Grueby and others, but to his credit produced a very handsome glaze. Among his products were pieces with remarkable texture and color, pieces with thick, gloopy passages and vases with feathering in the glaze which rivals any of its competitors.
It is believed that Wheatley produced his matte glaze art ware for about five years before turning to garden pottery and utilitarian wares later in life. In addition to his matte glaze, his Arts & Crafts production is remarkable is its diversity. There is very little duplication in the work itself; some forms were repeated fairly often, but many seem to have been done in very limited quantity or may even be unique. Some of the pieces, like the thistle and lizard vases, undoubtedly handmade. Other similar pieces have subtle yet strong design differences.