R.G. Cowan Pottery Art Deco "Palova" Nude Flower Frog. Pavlova Flower Frog Figurine (modeled after dancer Anna Pavlova), by R. Guy Cowan and Walter Sinz, 1925, Original Ivory glaze. Measures 6 1/2 inches tall, base about 4 1/2 by 2 1/32 inches. Weight 13 oz. Very good condition., light age appropriate crazing. PROVENANCE: A Charleston SC Private Collection. R. Guy Cowan was born in 1884 in East Liverpool, Ohio and educated in ceramics at the New York State School of Ceramics at Alfred. He founded the Cowan Pottery Studio in Lakewood, Ohio (a suburb of Cleveland) in 1912. The first studio had three small kilns, with Cowan doing most of the designing himself. In the early years, he produced a variety of art pottery and ceramic tiles. In 1917, R. G. Cowan was presented with the first of many career awards for pottery in the International Show at the Art Institute of Chicago. In the mid-twenties, the studio managed to develop a full commercial line of pottery with artistic quality of the highest standard. Examples of this are the flower figurines created by R. G. Cowan in 1924-1925 that enjoyed tremendous popularity with the public. Console sets, flower bowls, comports, candlesticks, vases, lamps, candy and nut dishes were very successful. By 1928, Cowan Pottery had grown to a staff of 35 people and was producing 175,000 single pieces a year ranging from unlimited stock designs to limited editions of sculptured pieces. By the late twenties, many well-known artists were affiliated with the studio, including Waylande Gregory, Viktor Schreckengost, Thelma Frazier Winter, Margaret Postgate, Alexander Blazys and 20 others. Through these artists and their works, American ceramic art gained the respect and recognition it deserved from the art world. The studio showed itself to be ahead of its time with the modern ceramic sculptures and wide array of Art Deco pieces it created for its avant-garde clientele. In 1930, the financial difficulties of the Great Depression proved overwhelming and in December, 1930 the Company went into receivership. In 1931, operating under supervision of the Court, Cowan Pottery artists were able to produce some of their most artistic work but the pottery was forced to sell off all its remaining inventory at depressed prices and finally closed its doors in December, 1931. REF: Cowan Pottery Museum Associates

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