Colors and Paints: What you should know

There are literally thousands of different paints and techniques that have been used over time on ceramic items. It would be impossible to address them all in this venue, so this section will deal with the obvious, the common, and the most identifiable aspects of color and paint on vintage collectible pottery.

The Shawnee Pottery Company:
Shawnee is a very collectible pottery, and fortunately for Shawnee lovers, this company had some very distinct color and paint norms that you can use to discern real from fake. Shawnee, like many other Ohio potteries, used a very distinctive semi-translucent heavy gel paint on many of their items. Once you know it by sight, it is very easy to see the difference between the modern fake and the originals.

Genuine Smiley with Tulips
Click thumbnail for larger image		 Real Smiley Pig with Tulips

Notice Smiley's scarf and flowers. The semi-translucent paint is very distinctive and the paint is always hand brushed, never air brushed. 

 

 Fake Smiley with Tulips
Click thumbnail for larger image		 Fake Smiley Pig with Tulips

This jar is obviously fake. The scarf is the wrong color, and is opaque, the tulips are painted in the wrong color, and appear in the wrong placement on the jar. The ear and mouth colors are wrong. Knowing the proper colors for a jar can help you avoid a costly mistake!
Real Smiley with Cold Paint
Click thumbnail for larger image		 Real Smiley with Cold Paint

One version of Smiley Pig was decorated with an opaque cold paint scarf (paint applied over the glaze). These jars were never decorated with "themes".

Genuine Smiley Bank Cookie Jar
Click thumbnail for larger image		 Real Smiley Cookie Jar Bank

This is the only version of Smiley that ever had an airbrushed scarf. It was a bank cookie jar, and is absolute distinctive due to it's unusual base.

All about RED

The bane of the fakers existence, the all-necessary, but all difficult red. Red on pottery is extremely difficult to deal with these days. Understanding red, then and now, can be an important key in distinguishing authenticity.

The type of red paint used on most vintage American pottery cookie jars by Hull, Regal and others is no longer available. Though apparently a "cold paint" of sorts, this paint was fired on and does not chip or flake like enamel cold paint will. This paint was applied by air brush on a masked jar, leaving a distinctive "edge" to the paint if you know what to look for. 

StoryBook Ceramics used fired on red opaque glaze for our pieces. Our red is permanent, and food safe, but even with the care we take, close inspection of our jar beside a vintage one would reveal obvious differences.

Click thumbnail for larger image
Genuine Red Riding Hood Face		 Hull Little Red Riding Hood

Look very closely at the right lower edge of the cape of red riding hood. You will see the "softening" of the paint edge, a tell tale sign of airbrush application. Many, many times the red on Hull and Regal pieces show this characteristic. Usually, no matter how old the jar is, the red on these pieces will be nearly perfectly intact.

Most red applied to modern fakes is easy to discern. The general process used is to open a can of industrial red floor paint and let it thicken by exposing it to evaporation. Once the paint is thick, it is applied by brush to the jar. The result is a very shiny finish, but one that easily scratches, peels and flakes.

Fake Red Riding Hood Face
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Notice the sloppy application of the red on this jar, extended over the cape and around the lip. Also, the face painting on this jar is obviously substandard; the eyes are horribly crooked, the lips are far too small. All in all, the jar looks amateurish.

Knowledge is Power

The single most important weapon you can have in your arsenal is familiarity with the company, and the pieces you are collecting. American Bisque used the same colors over and over again on their jars. Recognizing those will help you avoid fakes. The McCoy Mammy is a very popular jar with collectors. Recognizing the REAL skin color from the fakes will eliminate 99% of the fakes from your list.

Genuine McCoy Mammy face Real McCoy Mammy

This Mammy has the most face paint I've ever seen. She is very dirty, but gives a good look at the real color you should expect, even if that color is badly distressed.

Fake McCoy Mammy Face
Click thumbnail for larger image		 How can you tell this Mammy is fake?

Easy. Real Mammy's were never created in yellow, or  "Goldenrod". The jet back, mask like, cold painted face is a dead give away.

Remember, many of these jars are 40 or 50 years old. Perfect, shiny, brand new cold paint is VERY unlikely on a piece of that many years. If it looks "new"... it probably is.