The Monkey That Saved Rookwood

Thanks to Jim Robinson, Artist and Chemist at Rookwood Pottery

This humble ceramic monkey saved a once great company. Kataro Shirayamadani, a Japanese artist, created it as a small knick knack for the Rookwood Pottery Company of Cincinnati, OH. Shirayamadani was a leading designer and decorator there for over 50 years. Little did he know the important role it would play in the company's resurrection.

Founded in 1880 the Rookwood Pottery Company was the leader in the American Art Pottery Movement. In 1900 the company won the Grand Prix at the Paris Universal Exposition, marking it as the finest art pottery in the world. Rookwood went on to win the highest prizes at international fairs for many years to come. It continued its successful competition with the great art potteries of Europe through the1920s. Unable to weather the Great Depression of the 1930s, Rookwood struggled in a diminished state until 1967 when it finally closed. (From Anita Ellis, The Cincinnati Wing: The Story of Art in the Queen City, 2003)

In 1982 Michigan dentist and art pottery collector, Dr. Arthur Townley, used his life saving to buy the assets of the company so that it would remain in America. But to retain the intellectual property rights, the company needed to produce a product. He taught his family members to create the monkey using the original plaster molds, then firing and glazing them. Over the years, he turned down many offers to sell the company.

In 2006 after a year of negotiations, Dr. Townley sold the company to investors, returning the trademarks, more than 3,000 original molds and hundreds of glaze recipes used by the original Rookwood Pottery Company it to its home in Cincinnati. You can visit their studio and production facility in Over-The-Rhine and buy your own monkey – in blue, gold, green, brown or black. If you stop in on a Wednesday afternoon,
you can join Jim's weekly tour to see the artists and production team at work. He will amaze you with many more wonderful stories.

Our Japanese friends who see this monkey say the design is straight from Japan, the monkey who sees no evil. How interesting that an unseeing monkey saved a company that produces incredibly visual artworks. You can see many beautiful Rookwood creations at the Cincinnati Art Museum. If you're in town, contact me and I'll give you a tour there.

For more information:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rookwood_Pottery>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rookwood_Pottery
and (<https://www.rookwood.com/>https://www.rookwood.com/

Helen Rindsberg
http://helenrindsberg.com/
http://helenrindsberg.blogspot.com/