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Frankoma black colored pottery cookie jar is in Excellent Condition, no chips or cracks. Measurements: 8in. tall, 11in. length,8in. wide, 5in. deep.
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History of Frankoma Pottry: John Frank received his higher education at the Art Institute of Chicago, graduating in 1927. He was then an educator before he was a businessman, serving as a professor in the Ceramic Art Department at the University of Oklahoma after his move there from Chicago in about 1927. While there, he became exposed to the high quality local clays through his interaction with geology professors at the university and with private companies they consulted. Frank saw the potential here in creating fine art pottery, and in 1933 he established the Frank Potteries in Norman, Oklahoma with his wife Grace Lee. His first steps into business were small ones, operating with only a small kiln and while retaining his professorship at the university. As the company became more successful, John Frank finally resigned his position with the University of Oklahoma and decided to rename the company Frankoma, an aggregation of his own name with that of his new state Oklahoma suggested by his wife Grace.
His vision for the company was to position it as a manufacturer of high quality, distinctive ceramics reflective of the American west, but affordable enough for the general population. The years leading up to World War II were successful ones for Frankoma Pottery, and in 1939 they expanded the operations and relocated from Norman to Sapulpa, a small town near Tulsa. Frankoma pottery designs showed the clear influences of native American Indian arts and crafts. Only local Oklahoma clays were used in the production of Frankoma pottery, most specifically a unique red clay that through its use gave Frankoma pottery a unique look of older terra cotta. This base colorations of sand, green, and shades o | |
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