Gonder Ceramic Arts Glazes

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We now find ourselves at one of the most controversial and confusing topics in the Gonder collecting world – what is the name of that glaze! We all wish that a chart existed showing each glaze and its proper name. Sadly, no complete list has surfaced to date. We do have information from the Gonder price lists and from the Bradley catalog pages. That information will allow us to make an educated guess at a good number of glazes we see throughout our collections. 

As we make our way through this large topic, I will attempt establish some guidelines for glazes and the lines they were used on. It has been my observation, that as new lines of wares were introduced, so were new glazes. Popular pieces from previous lines would sometimes be reissued in these new glazes – often with a modified mold number. However, as you will quickly see, there will be many exceptions to these guidelines. 

To simplify this discussion, I have grouped the glazes as outlined below. Note that under each glaze I will indicate its known use on that line of ware. It is likely that any glaze could be ordered or used on any item as Gonder routinely produced pieces by special order. However as the sales sheets or catalogs indicate, most lines were produced in a small subset of all the known glazes. Lines of ware that are not known to be produced in that glaze are noted as “not generally used on this line“. Those items if found in that glaze should be considered more rare and likely produced as special order or end of day pieces. 

• Solid Colors
• Solid Colors with White Foam Drip
• Crackle Glazes
• Lustre Glazes
• Drip and Mottled Glazes
• Swirl/Drizzle Glazes
• Lamp Base Glazes
• Sovereign Line Glazes
• La Gonda Line Glazes
• Spongeware, Squeeze Bag and Matte Glazes 
• Experimental and non production Glazes

Per a former factory employee, this was referred to as the “icing glaze” noting its resemblance to a drip dessert icing.

This glaze treatment is generally not found on any pieces from the Standard Line. The exception is the P-24 Cookie Jar with Puppy Dog Lid. That piece has been found in Chartreuse, Forest Green and Victorian Wine – all with White Foam Drip. It is assumed that they were produced in the other colors, but I have not seen examples of them. They should be considered rare if found in Royal Blue, Dove Gray or Black with White Foam Drip.

This glaze treatment is easily found on the Original line items – in particular the kitchen ware items (mugs, pitchers, tea sets) and the #700 series planters. Oddly, I have not seen examples of kitchen ware items in Royal Blue with White Foam Drip.

• Black Gloss with White Foam Drip - Rarest of the solid color white foam combinations. 
• Imperial – rarely found. Ex: #520, #550 Sampans. 
• Original – often found on kitchen wares and planters. Ex: #909, #917, #720. 
• Standard, Ceramic Arts, Lamp Bases – not generally used on these lines. 

• Chartreuse with White Foam Drip
• Imperial – rarely found. Ex: #520, #550 Sampans. 
• Original – often found on kitchen wares and planters. Ex: #909, #917, #720. 
• Lamp Bases – commonly found. 
• Standard, Ceramic Arts – not generally used on these lines. 

• Dove Gray with White Foam Drip
• Imperial – rarely found. Ex: #520, #550 Sampans. 
• Original – often found on kitchen wares and planters. Ex: #909, #917, #720. 
• Lamp Bases – commonly found. 
• Standard, Ceramic Arts – not generally used on these lines. 

• Forest Green with White Foam Drip
• Imperial – rarely found. Ex: #520, #550 Sampans. 
• Original – often found on kitchen wares and planters. Ex: #909, #917, #720. 
• Lamp Bases – commonly found. 
• Standard, Ceramic Arts – not generally used on these lines. 

• Royal Blue with White Foam Drip
• Imperial – rarely found. Ex: #520, #550 Sampans. 
• Original – often found on planters. Ex: #709, #710, #720. 
• Standard, Ceramic Arts, Lamp Bases – not generally used on these lines. 

• Victorian Wine with White Foam Drip
• Imperial – rarely found. Ex: #520, #550 Sampans. 
• Original – often found on kitchen wares and planters. Ex: #909, #917, #720. 
• Lamp Bases – commonly found. 
• Standard, Ceramic Arts – not generally used on these lines. 

Crackle Glazes required additional steps to produce.  According to one factory worker, they were difficult to produce and could result in waste.  As shown on existing sales sheets, these pieces were sold at a slightly higher price.

• Antique Gold Crackle - one of Gonder’s most noted achievements. Pieces were produced by special order only. Production was limited to an isolated area of the factory due to the use of real 24K gold. Crackling affect varies greatly from piece to piece. Gentle cleaning only as this glaze is easily damaged. 
• Standard – commonly found. Ex: E-3, H-5, J-69.
• Imperial – more difficult to find. Ex: #533, #547, #548.
• Original – rarely found. Found with turquoise interior. Ex: #748.
• Lamp Bases – rarely found. Ex: #530.
• Ceramic Arts – not generally used on this line.

• Celadon Crackle - seldom seen glaze. 
• Original – commonly found on ashtrays. Ex: #805, #807.
• Lamp Bases – rarely found. Ex: H-73, #5507.
• Standard, Imperial, Original – not generally used on these lines. 

• Chinese Turquoise Crackle #26 - popular crackle glaze found on many Gonder items.  Glaze is often uneven in appearance. Likely intentional to better reflect the appearance of old Chinese pieces. 
• Standard – commonly found. Ex: E-3, E-5, H-74.
• Imperial – commonly found. Ex: #530, #533, #534, #545.
• Original – commonly found on ashtrays. More rare on other pieces. 
• Original - vases and planters found with chartreuse interior. Ex: #530, #748, #805, #807.
• Lamp Bases – rarely found. 
• Ceramic Arts – not generally used on this line.

• Chinese White Crackle #27 - very popular crackle glaze and found on many Gonder items. On pieces with pink interiors, the glaze is ivory in appearance. These pieces were dipped in the pink glaze to coat the interior. The application of the white crackle over pink creates an ivory color. Pieces without pink interior are significantly whiter in appearance. 
• Standard – commonly found. Ex: E-3, E-5, H-74.
• Imperial – commonly found. Ex: #510, #535, #545.
• Original – commonly found on ashtrays. More rare on other pieces. 
• Original - vases and planters found with chartreuse interior. Ex: #793, #805, #807.
• Lamp Bases – commonly found. Ex: #584.
• Ceramic Arts – not generally used on this line.

• Italian Pink Crackle - seldom seen glaze. 
• Original – commonly found on ashtrays. More rare on other pieces. 
• Original - vases and planters found with chartreuse interior. Ex: #793, #805, #807.
• Lamp Bases – rarely found. Ex: H-73.
• Standard, Imperial, Ceramic Arts – not generally used on these lines. 

• Yellow Crackle - rarest of the crackle glazes in my observations. Interior of vases and planters use a dark green glaze creating a striking combination.
• Imperial – rarely found. Ex: #538.
• Original – rarely found. Ex: #704, #709.
• Lamp Bases – rarely found. 
• Standard, Ceramic Arts – not generally used on these lines. 

These glaze names are take directly from a sales sheets. The early sales sheet identifies three lustre glazes. There is a fourth glaze that was introduced later. These glazes have a primary color and several secondary colors that when fired produced the lustre effect.  It is likely these secondary colors (perhaps in crystal form) were mixed into the primary glaze and applied at the same time. These lustre effect colors are random in pattern on finished pieces and are often described as mottled. Viewing a finished piece from various angles and lighting will give a lustrous appearance.  

• Gold Lustre (#41) – one of the most popular and easily found glazes. Used with pink interior. Bright yellow with pink, green and blue lustre effects. The lustre effects will vary greatly from piece to piece. Some pieces will show little to no pink effect while other pieces have a very noticeable pink. Note: A confusing glaze name indeed since the primary color is yellow and not gold, but the name is clearly shown in the sales sheet. I know that some of us have rare examples of pieces in gold finishes (similar to Antique Gold Crackle), but I suspect those were custom orders or presentation pieces. The use of real gold would not have been possible at this price point. 
• Standard – commonly found on all pieces in the E, H, J, K, L and M series.
• Imperial – commonly found on all pieces in this line. 
• Original – rarely found.
• Lamp Bases – rarely found. Used on early lamps marked and sold as Gonder.
• Ceramic Arts – not generally used on this line.

• Mother of Pearl Lustre (#24) – one of the most popular and easily found glazes. Used with pink interior. Pale blue with green and/or blue lustre effects. 
• Standard – commonly found on all pieces in the E, H, J, K, L and M series.
• Imperial – commonly found on all pieces in this line. 
• Original – rarely found.
• Lamp Bases – rarely found. Used on early lamps marked and sold as Gonder.
• Ceramic Arts – not generally used on this line.

• Shell Pink Lustre (#25) – one of the most popular and easily found glazes. Used with pink interior. Coral pink with green and/or blue lustre effects.   
• Standard – commonly found. Ex: E-3, H-5, J-69.
• Imperial – more difficult to find. Ex: #533, #547,      #548.
• Original – rarely found. 
• Lamp Bases – rarely found. Used on early lamps marked and sold as Gonder.
• Ceramic Arts – not generally used on this line.

• Turquoise Blue Lustre – one of the lesser found glazes. Used with pink interior. Turquoise blue with yellow lustre effects. The yellow lustre effects are often very faint and go unnoticed – often described as Turquoise with no mention of the yellow. This glaze name is not yet verified in documentation. I have assigned it this name based on the primary color and glaze technique.
• Standard – difficult to find. Ex: E-3, H-5, J-69.
• Imperial – difficult to find. Ex: #533, #547, #548.
• Original – rarely found. 
• Lamp Bases – not generally used on this line.
• Ceramic Arts – not generally used on this line.   

Drip glazes were commonly used by Gonder and will be found on many lines of wares. Some of the names are taken directly from sales sheet. There are four drip glazes used heavily during the early years of production. Hence, they are found on the earlier Standard and Imperial lines. Drip glazes usually consist of a primary glaze and the secondary drip glaze. 

During an interview with a former employee, it was discovered that the secondary drip glaze was applied by sprayer. The secondary glaze was sometimes clear and the coverage and  color of the drip was not always apparent during the application. It was not until after firing would the results be seen. Pieces will vary in appearance depending on the amount of drip glaze used. The drip may appear very light on some pieces and particularly heavy on others.

When determining the color of the primary glaze, it is helpful to turn the piece over. The primary glaze will nearly always be apparent as the color on the bottom – and sometimes the interior. The drip glaze was not applied to the bottom. For example, if you are having problems determining if the glaze Yellow with Brown Drip or Chartreuse with Brown Drip, check the bottom to see if it’s yellow or chartreuse. When buying pieces online, the color is often difficult to determine as photo quality varies. Seeing the bottom has helped me identify the correct glaze when the photo quality of the piece is poor.

• Antique Gold #40  Collectors sometimes call this glaze Dijon in reference to its dark mustard color. This glaze is often noted as green since it can have a greenish tint. The 1943-44 catalogs note the release of this glaze. It is touted as having a rich brown background. About half of my examples in this glaze have the brown glaze on the bottom. The drip glaze is yellow which gives pieces their Antique Gold appearance. The yellow can often be seen in areas where it was allowed to pool. Used with pink interior. 
• Standard – commonly found on all pieces in the E, H, J, K, L and M series.
• Imperial – commonly found on all pieces in this line. 
• Original – rarely found.
• Ceramic Arts, Lamp Bases – not generally used on these lines.

• Ebony Green #28  Collectors sometimes call this glaze Sea Swirl. While ebony generally denotes black in color, this glaze is turquoise green with brown drip. Used with pink interior. A popular glaze as evidenced by its availability today.
• Standard – commonly found on all pieces in the E, H, J, K, L and M series.
• Imperial – commonly found on all pieces in this line. 
• Original – rarely found.
• Ceramic Arts, Lamp Bases – not generally used on these lines.

• Royal Purple #29  Collectors sometimes call this glaze French Lilac. The primary glaze is lilac blue/violet. The drip glaze is brown. These pieces vary greatly depending on the amount of brown drip that was applied. Used with pink interior. Note these same two colors were used later to produce a strikingly different but rarely seen glaze. That glaze is often mistakenly called Royal Purple. Due to its rarity, we know that the more commonly found French Lilac pieces are indeed Royal Purple.
• Standard – commonly found on all pieces in the E, H, J, K, L and M series.
• Imperial – commonly found on all pieces in this line. 
• Original – rarely found.
• Ceramic Arts, Lamp Bases – not generally used on these lines.

• Wine Brown #30  Collectors call this (you guessed it) Wine Brown. The primary glaze is white. The drip glaze is brown.  
• Standard – commonly found on all pieces in the E, H, J, K, L and M series.
• Imperial – commonly found on all pieces in this line. 
• Original – rarely found.
• Ceramic Arts, Lamp Bases – not generally used on these lines.

• Victorian Wine with Chartreuse Drip   Collectors often call this Red Flambé and it is believed this was the name used by Gonder, although that has not been shown in any documentation. Flambé comes from the French and means flamed. Attached to this glaze as a reference to it’s often flame like appearance. One of my favorite glazes, Red Flambé is Victorian Wine with Chartreuse Drip. The bottom and interiors are always Victorian Wine. On occasion you will find a pool of chartreuse around the bottom or perhaps spilling onto the foot ring. Pieces vary greatly in appearance depending on the amount of chartreuse drip used. A favorite with many collectors, this glaze will often double the price of the piece. Produced for items in the Original line, the glaze was also used on some of the more popular items from the Standard and Imperial lines – often noted with a new mold number. 
• Standard – found on some pieces in the E, H, J, K, L and M series.
• Imperial – found on some pieces in this line. 
• Original – commonly found on all pieces in this line.
• Ceramic Arts – extremely rare on items from this line.
• Lamp Bases – not generally used on these lines. A variation of this was used on lamps and which Bradley called Rosewood.

• Chartreuse with Brown Drip   Collectors call this Pistachio. Also noted as Pistachio in many Bradley catalog pages. Perhaps Gonder used the same name for it, but no documentation exists to confirm this. Used with Chartreuse interior, pieces will vary greatly in appearance depending on the amount of brown drip applied. I have some examples that are almost spotted in appearance. However there is no indication that this was a change in glaze colors or techniques, so I refer to all these pieces as Pistachio. 
• Standard – rarely found.
• Imperial – rarely found.
• Original – commonly found on all pieces in this line.
• Ceramic Arts – not generally used on this line.
• Lamp Bases – commonly found on many pieces in this line.

• Yellow with Brown Drip  Lesser seen glaze. Used with yellow interior, pieces will vary greatly in appearance depending on the amount of brown drip applied. Also found on Lamp Bases.  
• Standard – rarely found.
• Imperial – rarely found.
• Original – commonly found on all pieces in this line.
• Ceramic Arts – not generally used on this line.
• Lamp Bases – commonly found on many pieces in this line.

• Dove Gray with Victorian Wine Drip  Lesser seen glaze. Used with gray interior, pieces will vary greatly in appearance depending on the amount of wine drip applied. Found mostly on E and H series pieces from the Standard line. Also found on 900 series pieces from the Original Line. 
• Standard – found on E and H series pieces.
• Imperial – rarely found.
• Original – found on 900 series pieces in this line.
• Ceramic Arts – not generally used on this line.
• Lamp Bases – not generally used on this line.  

• Dove Gray with Blue Drip  Lesser seen glaze. Used with blue interior, pieces will vary greatly in appearance depending on the amount of blue drip applied. This glaze has a mottled appearance, but used the drip technique.  
• Standard – rarely found.
• Imperial – rarely found.
• Original – commonly found on all pieces in this line.
• Ceramic Arts – not generally used on this line.
• Lamp Bases – not generally used on this line.

• Ivory with Caramel (aka Butterscotch)  Rarely seen glaze. Used with Ivory interior, pieces will vary greatly in appearance depending on the amount of caramel drip applied. This glaze has a mottled appearance, but used the drip technique.  
• Standard – rarely found.
• Imperial – rarely found.
• Original – commonly found on all pieces in this line.
• Ceramic Arts – not generally used on this line.
• Lamp Bases – not generally used on this line.

• Brown with Royal Purple  Beautiful lesser seen glaze. Often confused with a similar glaze. This glaze uses brown as the primary glaze and purple as the drip. Close inspection will be required as the purple glaze is often difficult to detect.   
• Standard – rarely found.
• Imperial – rarely found.
• Original – commonly found on all pieces in this line.
• Ceramic Arts – not generally used on this line.
• Lamp Bases – not generally used on this line.

• Brown with Ebony Green  Beautiful lesser seen glaze. Often confused with a similar glaze. This glaze uses brown as the primary glaze and turquoise green as the drip. Close inspection will be required as the green glaze is often difficult to detect.   
• Standard – rarely found.
• Imperial – rarely found.
• Original – commonly found on all pieces in this line.
• Ceramic Arts – not generally used on this line.
• Lamp Bases – not generally used on this line.

This glaze treatment is rarely seen. Used mostly on items from the Original line items – in particular the 1200 series bottles, 500 series planters and vases. Occasionally seen on select items from the Standard line. This glaze uses an ivory base glaze, with swirl glaze of Black, Brown or Green. A former worker relayed the swirl glaze was applied by hand with a custom made brush.

• Ivory with Black Swirl  
• Standard – found on select pieces. Ex: E-65
• Imperial – not generally used on this line. 
• Original – found on items from 500 and 1200 series. Ex: 512, 1204 
• Ceramic Arts, Lamp Bases – not generally used on these lines. 

• Ivory with Brown Swirl  
• Standard – found on select pieces. Ex: E-65
• Imperial – not generally used on this line. 
• Original – found on items from 500 and 1200 series. Ex: 512, 1204 
• Ceramic Arts, Lamp Bases – not generally used on these lines. 

• Ivory with Green Swirl  
• Standard – found on select pieces. Ex: E-65
• Imperial – not generally used on this line. 
• Original – found on items from 500 and 1200 series. Ex: 512, 1204 
• Ceramic Arts, Lamp Bases – not generally used on these lines. 

 Five glazes were used on pieces from the Sovereign Line. These glazes are not found on other lines. 

• White
• Celadon Green
• Royal Blue
• Shell Pink
• Azure Blue

Pieces are most often found in White, Royal Blue and Shell Pink.  On occasion a piece may also contain a decorative gold trim. 

Four pastel glazes were used on pieces from the La Gonda Line. These glazes are not found on other lines. 

• Grey (pale blue)
• Yellow
• Coral
• Turquoise Green

Pieces from the La Gonda line have also been found in Lustre Glaze finishes – mostly notably Gold Lustre and Turquoise Lustre. These should be considered more rare.  Pieces from the La Gonda line have also been found with transfer ware decoration. The decoration ranges from forested mountain scenes to island palm trees to Dutch windmills. These pieces were decorated by Marco Pottery and may or may not be marked with the La Gonda mark. Pieces are exceedingly rare and highly desired by collectors. 

Note:  Some pieces from this line were later used in the Original Line.  These pieces are marked as such and will be finished in Original line glazes - most often solid colors with white foam drip.  

Spongeware

The Spongeware glazes are most often found on kitchenwares. These include cookie jars, individual casserole sets, bowls, cups, mugs, pitchers, plates and tea sets. Spongeware pieces have a solid color primary glaze with either brown or white as the secondary glaze – which was applied, I assume with a sponge. The spongeware pattern is random and may vary from light to heavy in appearance.  

The brown spongeware is most often found on the P-24 cookie jar and P-31 tea set. Easily found, these pieces utilize white, yellow, lilac blue or turquoise green as the primary color. These sets will often have a band of heavy brown drip applied at the top, with the spongeware applied on the lower portion of the piece and on the lids. I have noted that these sets are often marked in block style which would indicate early production dates. These molds were previously used at Florence in the production of RumRill. 

This glaze often garners harsh comments from collectors and dealers as unattractive. While not the most coveted glaze for today’s collectors, it must have been popular when produced as these sets are commonly found.

Less easily found is the brown spongeware technique used on vases and pitchers from the Standard line. These pieces will have the dark brown drip around the top of the piece and may or may not have spongeware on the lower portion. Primary glaze is usually lilac blue or yellow and with a matte finish. Believed to be very early production pieces, there are some collectors that seek these out. Some pieces may be accompanied by a premium price.

When the Gonder Original line was released, the spongeware glaze technique was used on the kitchenware pieces. Marked Gonder Original, these pieces include some unique items as well as items from the La Gonda line. The primary glaze may be Carmel, Chartreuse, Forest Green or Victorian Wine. Other solid color glazes such as Dove Gray or Black could have been used, but I have not seen any examples to date. The secondary glaze is always white. In my experience, these pieces are in limited supply. The #951, #952 and #953 casserole sets seem to be the most easily found items using this glaze technique.

• White, Yellow, Lilac Blue or Turquoise Green with Brown Spongeware 
• Standard – commonly found on P series pieces. Less common on Standard pieces.
• Imperial, Original, Ceramic Arts, Lamp Bases – not generally used on these lines.

• Chartreuse, Carmel, Forest Green or Victorian Wine with White Spongeware 
• Standard, Imperial – not generally used on these lines.
• Original – found on most kitchenware pieces in this line.
• Ceramic Arts, Lamp Bases – not generally used on these lines.

Squeeze Bag Decorated

Our next glaze is referred to as Squeeze Bag or Squiggle by collectors. Pieces use a matte charcoal glaze as the primary glaze. They are then decorated with piping of white, yellow and blue. This piping was applied using a custom made squeeze gun according to a former employee. A standard design or pattern for the piping was developed for each piece. The piping is not random.

Sadly, these pieces are quite fragile and few are known to exist. The charcoal glaze does not appear to hold up well under use and is easily scratched. Even less durable is the piping. Most examples exhibit some sort of damage to the piping. Interiors of these pieces are chartreuse. 

Available catalog pages indicate this glaze was available on a limited number of pieces. Only items from the Original 700 series planters and ashtrays are known to have been produced in this glaze. The catalog pages indicate the item number followed by /20. This would indicate that 20 was the glaze number used on orders and at the factory. 

• Charcoal Grey with White, Yellow and Blue Decoration
• Standard, Imperial – not generally used on these lines.
• Original – found on 700 series planters and ashtrays from this line.
• Ceramic Arts, Lamp Bases – not generally used on these lines.

Matte Glazes

Some of the rarest production glazes are the Matte Glazes. Matte Glaze lack the high gloss normally associated with Gonder. There are several colors of matte glazes. Not much is known about them and they are exceedingly rare.  Colors include Terra Cotta, Blue (several shades), Yellow, Ivory and Green. These colors may be mixed and/or used on the same piece. Some of my examples indicate that the glaze may have been wiped off or perhaps rubbed on as the glaze varies in color from one section of the piece to another. It is also possible that these were sprayed on as you will see in the photo examples.

• Terra Cotta, Blue, Yellow, Ivory and Green
• Standard, Imperial – not generally used on these lines.
• Original – found on limited pieces in this line.
• Ceramic Arts, Lamp Bases – not generally used on these lines.

Lawton Gonder loved developing glazes.  We continue to find pieces finished in previously unseen glazes.  These may be experimental or the result of a employee making an end of the day piece.  Gonder was fond of glazing production pieces in interesting new glazes and presenting them as gifts.

These rare glazes may be found on all lines.