Collection Spotlight: The Grueby Daffodil Vase

Created around 1901 by the Grueby Pottery Company, this exceptional vase represents the firm at the height of its artistic and technical achievement. Designed by George P. Kendrick and modeled by Wilhelmina Post, the urn-shaped vessel combines a disciplined, architectonic form with carved vertical ribs and a naturalistic band of yellow daffodils. The decoration emerges from Grueby’s celebrated matte green surface, often called its “green alligator glaze” for its subtly varied, organic texture. Post modeled the flowers without contrasting glaze slips, creating an unusually unified relationship among color, form, and craftsmanship.

Founded in Boston in 1894 by William Henry Grueby, the company became a leading force in the American Arts and Crafts movement and earned international recognition at the 1900 Paris Exposition. This vase is the only known surviving example of its design. First exhibited at the National Arts Club in Gramercy Park in 1901, it later appeared in the landmark exhibition Inspiring Reform: Boston’s Arts and Crafts Movement.

The vase is now displayed in a fourth-floor vitrine at MAACM alongside the celebrated Grueby “Daisy” vase, another truly rare and beautiful masterwork. Together, the two vessels reveal the remarkable range, ambition, and enduring appeal of Grueby pottery at its finest.