Wright vase in production

One of Wright's best known commissions was the Susan Lawrence Dana house. Wright created most of the interior accessories as well as the house.

Among the furniture, windows, and other Arts and Crafts inspired designs was this pottery vase. Wright claimed the design represented branches of sumac rising from the flat prairie.

The vase was reproduced by the Frank Lloyd Wright Gallery in a marketing effort of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation and Marshal Field's. The new vase sold for $159 retail.

The original vase is almost 24″ tall and was made of lightweight terra cotta. It was glazed a soft green very similar to Teco. The copy, shown here, is only 12″ tall and fired at a higher temperature to produce a waterproof body. It is also a soft green.

If this were offered by an unethical seller, it's unlikely that many buyers would think they were buying the Dana House original. But you don't have to know Wright to recognize the appeal of the strong Arts and Craft design. With Teco, Grueby and other Arts and Crafts pottery bringing five figure prices, it's easy to imagine this piece attributed to any of those firms as "unmarked."

The Frank Lloyd Wright Gallery offers a broad range of reproductions of many of Wright's most famous designs in wood, metal, glass, ceramics and textiles. Objects include lighting, vases, scarves, street numbers, furniture, bar ware, toys, clocks, prints, sculpture and a wide variety of accessories. Items were available on-line and by mail order with many pieces offered in Marshal Field's retail locations.