On view
American Art
Wilmerding Pavilion
Philip & Nancy Anschutz Gallery
Wilmerding Pavilion
Philip & Nancy Anschutz Gallery
Tulip Vase,
1904–ca. 1914
Fernand Moreau, 1853–1920; born France; active Chicago, IL
Teco Art Pottery, active 1899–1966, Terra Cotta, IL
Teco Art Pottery, active 1899–1966, Terra Cotta, IL
2016-39
Teco, a portmanteau of terracotta, developed out of the American Terra Cotta Tile and Ceramic Company, founded in 1881 near Chicago by William Day Gates to produce terracotta materials for buildings. After experimenting with various clays and glazes, Gates launched Teco as a means of entering the burgeoning art pottery market. The firm manufactured an impressively wide array of ceramics incorporating stylized and abstract forms designed by Gates himself as well as by architectural luminaries such as Frank Lloyd Wright. The designer of these vases, in characteristic “Teco Green” glaze, was Fernand Moreau, a French sculptor hired by Gates after coming to Chicago to work at the 1893 World’s Fair. Moreau produced some of Teco’s most successful work in a naturalistic style informed by the elegant plantlike shapes of Art Nouveau, in contrast to the predominantly rectilinear creations of the firm’s architect designers.
Information
Title
Tulip Vase
Dates
1904–ca. 1914
Maker
Fernand Moreau , designer
Medium
Terracotta with matte Teco Green glaze
Dimensions
30.2 x 16.5 cm (11 7/8 x 6 1/2 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Joel L. Cohen in memory of Kermit A. Brandt, Class of 1956
Object Number
2016-39
Place Made
North America, United States, Illinois, Terra Cotta
Inscription
Stamped twice on bottom with TECO mark
Culture
Type
Materials
Techniques
Subject
Offered gift from Joel Cohen, Chicago, partner of the late Kermit Brandt, Class of 1956
