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Identifying George Ohr Pottery

The following is intended to help you identify real George Ohr pottery and help you distinguish it from the reproductions. Although, I have seen at least sixty pieces of Ohr in person and viewed many more in photos, I still do not consider myself to be an expert.

My concern stems from the large number of pieces I see on eBay represented as authentic George Ohr, which are not authentic. In addition to fakes, there are a number of "reglazed" pieces showing up, which are not disclosed as "reglazed". The "reglazed" pieces are authentic Ohr pots which were originally made and intended by Ohr to be bisque (unglazed). After Ohr pottery was discovered, many of his bisque pieces were glazed. These have inferior glazes and as a result have significantly less value than original glazed Ohr pottery.

Below I offer some comparisons between authentic Ohr and Ohr reproductions (there are exceptions to the guidelines stated here, but this information applies to the overwhelming majority of George Ohr pottery available today):

In the first case I was fortunate to find a piece of George Ohr pottery which is similar to the reproduction piece. Both pieces are signed. The photo on the left shows a pot marked GEO E OHR  BILOXI, MISS. The photo on the right below shows a pot marked G. E. OHR, Biloxi, Miss. Which is the real George E. Ohr pot? The real one is on the right. Here are the clues: the vase on the left has a fairly clean bottom, most of George Ohr's pots look like the one on the right, with spots, glaze, kiln pulls (to the left of signature). Most Ohr vase bottoms are are well defined like the one on the right. The fake piece does not look like it was thrown on a wheel, but rather, rolled flat and draped over a cylindrical object. The explanation for that would be, that no one except Ohr has been able to create such thin walled vases on a potter's wheel. Most of the available George Ohr vases have very thin walls (like fine china) and are very light in weight, like the first piece on the right. The piece on left, the reproduction, has very thin walls, but the pink thing below does not.

In most cases, even though George Ohr's pots are distorted, they are distorted in a more or less symmetrical fashion like the pieces on the right, below. Ohr would start with a symmetrically thrown vase and then he would use various techniques to distort the shape: twisting the vase making an undulating pattern with the clay, flattening the opening in  segments to get a pie crust effect, pinching the rim and bending it in a bunched ribbon effect, etc. Another clue to look for is the glaze of the piece. George Ohr pottery for the most part has very clear, flowing glazes with lots of depth. His gun metal glazes are the exception. They can be very flat with little glow.
 

George Ohr

Reproduction

Actual


The fake piece above left demonstrates that you cannot rely on the signature to identify authentic Ohr pieces.

Below, for emphasis I am throwing in another base photo of a George Ohr vase. The base is a mess like the one above. The signature is different than the other two, G. E. OHR  BILOXI. Also, notice the color of the clay when compared with the reproductions above and below. Note the base on this piece. It is well defined. With the exception of his bowls and his mugs with flared bases or flattened handles, most of Ohr's pieces have a defined base like this piece.
 

Reproduction

Actual

 

Additional Examples of George Ohr's Work


The photo to the left above shows an unusual Ohr mark. The photo to the right shows the incised George Ohr signature mark, which he used on his later pieces. The die stamp impressed marks (see preceding photos) are from his earlier pieces.

Below are more authentic George Ohr pieces. Notice how thin the sides are on the brown pitcher. Also, both these pieces show a clearly defined foot or base. Not all of Ohr's pieces had this base, but most his vases and many mugs do have a similar type base (see link to photos below to view both type bases).
 

(Click > here to see more authentic Ohr photos)

At times, as many as 25% of the pieces represented to be Ohr on eBay are not authentic! I have contacted many of the sellers of these pieces, letting them know I doubt the authenticity of their piece, giving clear and specific reasons (most of these pieces are clearly fakes to anyone with knowledge of Ohr). Not one eBay seller has admitted to selling a fake, nor has one been willing to attempt to verify my opinion. They all say their piece is authentic and are very defensive. Apparently, these sellers are either in denial or they do not care if they sell fake pottery. In either case - buyer beware!

The best advice I can offer is, buy your George Ohr from a reputable dealer or reputable auction house on eBay. Buying Ohr on eBay is, at best a risk, until you get really good at identifying Ohr. Even then, buying pottery on eBay is a risk, as you do not know the true condition the pottery until after you have paid for it and receive it.

If you do buy George Ohr pottery on eBay, be sure the seller offers a money back guaranty and accept a major credit card or PayPal. All ethical pottery dealers guaranty their ware and back the guaranty with a clearly stated refund policy.

To learn more about George Ohr get one of these books:  "The Mad Potter of Biloxi, the Art and Life of George E. Ohr, written by Garth Clark, Robert A. Ellison and Eugene Heck. The book is full of color photographs of Ohr's pottery. Another excellent reference is "George Ohr, Art Potter" by Robert A. Ellison. This book has a good narrative and lots of color photos and the best guide to dating Ohr pottery (and it is less expensive).


Click on photo to purchase:

 "The Mad Potter of Biloxi" >
  
  "George Ohr, Art Potter" >   



More fake George Ohr >
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 Last revised: 02/05/08