The Museum of Ceramics, housed in the former East Liverpool Post Office, is a

ceramics museum A ceramics museum is a museum wholly or largely devoted to ceramics, usually ceramic art. Its collections may also include glass and enamel, but typically concentrate on pottery, including porcelain. Most national collections are in a more gener ...

that contains an extensive collection of

ceramic A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant, and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcela ...

wares produced in and around East Liverpool,

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

, United States. The museum is operated by a Museum of Ceramics Foundation and by the

Ohio Historical Society Ohio History Connection, formerly The Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society and Ohio Historical Society, is a nonprofit organization incorporated in 1885. Headquartered at the Ohio History Center in Columbus, Ohio, Ohio History Connect ...

in a city long known as "America's

Crockery Tableware items are the dishware and utensils used for setting a table, serving food, and dining. The term includes cutlery, glassware, serving dishes, serving utensils, and other items used for practical as well as decorative purposes. The ...

City" and "The Pottery Capital of the Nation."

Description

The Museum of Ceramics is dedicated to the preservation of the rich pottery history of the East Liverpool area. During the late 19th century and early 20th century, the East Liverpool area produced over 50% of the nation's ceramic output. Over 200 pottery factories have operated in and around East Liverpool, starting in the 1840s, when the English potter James Bennett established the area's first commercial pottery. James Bennett was the elder brother of Edwin Bennett of

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

. The museum contains the largest public display of Lotus Ware, an award-winning fine

porcelain Porcelain (), also called china, is a ceramic material made by heating Industrial mineral, raw materials, generally including kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The greater strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to oth ...

ware produced only for a short period in the 1890s by the Knowles, Taylor, Knowles pottery of East Liverpool. Also on display are collections of early

Rockingham Pottery The Rockingham Pottery was a 19th-century manufacturer of porcelain of international repute, supplying fine wares and ornamental pieces to royalty and the aristocracy in Britain and overseas, as well as manufacturing porcelain and earthenwar ...

ironstone Ironstone is a sedimentary rock, either deposited directly as a ferruginous sediment or created by chemical replacement, that contains a substantial proportion of an iron ore compound from which iron (Fe) can be smelted commercially. Not to be c ...

, , yellow ware, and

Victorian majolica Victorian majolica properly refers to two types of majolica made in the second half of the 19th century in Europe and America. Firstly, and best known, there is the mass-produced majolica decorated with coloured lead glazes, made in Britain, Eur ...

. Other highlights are

Homer Laughlin Homer Laughlin (March 23, 1843 – January 10, 1913) was an American businessman and potter. With his brother Shakespeare, he formed the Laughlin Pottery Company, now known as Fiesta Tableware Company, in 1871.''Press Reference Library : Portrai ...

's Fiesta dinnerware,

Hall China The Hall China Company was an American ceramics manufacturer located in East Liverpool, Ohio, United States. At the time of its closure, Hall China was one of two potteries under the HLC Inc. brand, the other being Homer Laughlin China Company, H ...

's Donut teapot, and William Bloor's 1860s Parian Ware, along with Craven Art Pottery vases. Related displays on East Liverpool's social, political and economic history show the impact of the industry on the community and the nation. As of 2024, Susan Weaver is director of the museum. The Goodwin Baggott Pottery is operated by the Museum of Ceramics.

Building

The museum occupies the former United States post office, a Beaux-Arts structure designed by architect

James Knox Taylor James Knox Taylor (October 11, 1857 – August 27, 1929) was Supervising Architect of the United States Department of the Treasury from 1897 to 1912. His name is listed ''ex officio'' as supervising architect of hundreds of federal buildings b ...

and built in 1909. The building was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

on November 21, 1976. The main lobby features a post office mural by Ohio artist Roland Schweinsburg, titled ''Old Bennett Pottery Plant'' (1936). The large 15-foot

lunette A lunette (French ''lunette'', 'little moon') is a crescent- or half-moon–shaped or semi-circular architectural space or feature, variously filled with sculpture, painted, glazed, filled with recessed masonry, or void. A lunette may also be ...

was commissioned by the

Treasury Relief Art Project The Treasury Relief Art Project (TRAP) was a New Deal arts program that commissioned visual artists to provide artistic decoration for existing Federal buildings during the Great Depression in the United States. A project of the United States De ...

References

External links

Museum of Ceramics website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Museum Of Ceramics (East Liverpool, Ohio) Museums with year of establishment missing Museums in Columbiana County, Ohio National Register of Historic Places in Columbiana County, Ohio East Liverpool, Ohio Art museums and galleries in Ohio Post office buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Ohio Ohio History Connection Ceramics museums in the United States