fakes_grueby

Fakes

GRUEBY

The following items are deliberate fakes, made with the intention to deceive. If you have any additional information on these or other Fakes, Knock-offs, or Reproductions, please
e-mail us at: AmArtPotAssn@aol.com

Note: If you are submitting information for this page, please be as specific as possible, particularly in the area of what distinguishes the fake from the genuine article. Cite references to the genuine item when possible. Provide a clear photo of the fake item, either in 35 mm color print or JPEG format. Where possible, please include a photo of the base with any marks appearing as clear as possible.

Shown below are a number of FAKE Grueby tiles, together with several GENUINE tiles for comparison.

FAKE "Grueby" Lily Pads Tile #1

This is a crude fake of the Grueby lily pads tile.

The design is right, but Grueby did not do the tile in a monochrome.

Texture too smooth and shiny.

It has the fake signature above.

Note: A picture of a genuine Grueby lily pad tile is provided below.

FAKE "Grueby" Lily Pads Tile #2

This is a far more sophisticated version of the fake Grueby lily pads tile.

Done in polychrome, but the background is far too blue.

Though the effect does not show is this image, the whole tile has a mica-like sheen that is decidedly non-Grueby.

Texture too smooth and shiny.

It has the fake signature above.

Note: A picture of a genuine Grueby lily pad tile is provided below.

FAKE "Grueby" Lily Pads Tile #3

Here they have not even bothered to differentiate the outer leaves of the lilies from the inner. And the colors - ugh!

Compare with the real thing, below.

GENUINE Grueby waterlines tile.

Note that it is a four-color tile --the flower stamens are yellow.

Note the fineness of the raised 'cloisonné' lines.

Note the casually intended glaze-skips. The vast majority of Grueby water lily tiles are, like this one, made of red clay.

Genuine Grueby tile provided by Richard Mohr.

REAL Grueby Tile Signature (from water lily tile)

Note blockiness of the print-type lettering. Note the texture of the red-clay body.

FAKE "Grueby" Tile Back and FAKE Mark #1

The most commonly seen fake Grueby signature.

The Grueby signatures do not come in a "box."

The impress is too light.

The letters are not block-y enough.

The lotus logo is too simple & too narrow.

The clay-body is also completely wrong -- far too fine of texture for Grueby.
Same Mark on FAKE Red-Back Tile.

FAKE "Grueby" Tile Back and FAKE Mark #2

Appears on the back of Fake Grueby Water Lily Tile #3, above.

See below for genuine Grueby mark.

GENUINE Grueby Tile Mark

"Real Grueby Tile Mark. Although this is apparently the mark that was copied for the [above] fake tiles, this mark was never used on real Water Lily tiles."

JMW Gallery, as reported in the "Maine Antique Digest," February, 1996

REAL Grueby White-Clay Tile Back

This tile (of horses) shows, if faintly, the initials of Wilhelmina Post. To date, no one has tried to fake the Grueby artists' signatures on tiles, but the signatures are very distinctive: on white-bodied tiles, the artists' signatures (always initials) are 'painted' in one of the glazes from the front of the tile (usually light blue) and the color has a yellow haze or halo that tracks the lines of the initials. This yellow residue is a 'melt out' from the glaze used. One frequently sees a similar yellow haze or frosting on the sides of those Grueby tiles which have not been glazed on the sides. The 'melt out' of the glazes on the face of the tile has slid over the edge of the tile and sheeted part way down its sides.
Submitted by Richard Mohr.

REAL Grueby Tile Back in White Clay.

Note the open-textured, non-homogeneous, loosely compacted clay. This clay was never smooth and creamy as is the case with most of the fake Grueby tiles.

Almost all Grueby tiles that are an inch or more thick have coffered (partially recessed) backs (to promote even heat distribution during firing). This tile (of a galleon) shows the initials of Grueby artist Marie Seaman.

Submitted by Richard Mohr.

REAL Grueby Tile with a Red-Clay Body.

Note the coarse texture of the red clay.

Note the extensive presence in the red matrix of big white chunks of grog (ground-up pre-fired clay used to avoid warpage and cracks during firing). Red-clay tiles by the Mosaic Tile Company and Mueller Mosaic are also heavily grogged with white particles, but their grog particles are much smaller than those used in Grueby tiles (which in any case are easily distinguished from them on other grounds).

Note the raking grooves streaking diagonally across parts of the tile back. This is very distinctive of Grueby red-clay tiles.

Submitted by Richard Mohr.

REAL Grueby Red-Clay Tile Back
showing these same characteristics.

Submitted by Richard Mohr.

Note: The above information is accurate to the best of our knowledge. However, the AAPA (including its Board of Directors, Webmaster and other members, individually and collectively) accepts no responsibility for any injury resulting from errors of omission or commission.

If you have information or links you feel should be added to this page, e-mail us at: AmArtPotAssn@aol.com

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*GENUINE* Grueby Tile Mark "Real Grueby Tile Mark. Although this is apparently the mark that was copied for the [above] fake tiles, this mark was never used on real Water Lily tiles." JMW Gallery, as reported in the "Maine Antique Digest," February, 1996
*REAL* Grueby White-Clay Tile Back This tile (of horses) shows, if faintly, the initials of Wilhelmina Post. To date, no one has tried to fake the Grueby artists' signatures on tiles, but the signatures are very distinctive: on white-bodied tiles, the artists' signatures (always initials) are 'painted' in one of the glazes from the front of the tile (usually light blue) and the color has a yellow haze or halo that tracks the lines of the initials. This yellow residue is a 'melt out' from the glaze used. One frequently sees a similar yellow haze or frosting on the sides of those Grueby tiles which have not been glazed on the sides. The 'melt out' of the glazes on the face of the tile has slid over the edge of the tile and sheeted part way down its sides.	Submitted by Richard Mohr.
*REAL* Grueby Tile Back in White Clay. Note the open-textured, non-homogeneous, loosely compacted clay. This clay was never smooth and creamy as is the case with most of the fake Grueby tiles. Almost all Grueby tiles that are an inch or more thick have coffered (partially recessed) backs (to promote even heat distribution during firing). This tile (of a galleon) shows the initials of Grueby artist Marie Seaman. Submitted by Richard Mohr.
*REAL* Grueby Tile with a Red-Clay Body. Note the coarse texture of the red clay. Note the extensive presence in the red matrix of big white chunks of grog (ground-up pre-fired clay used to avoid warpage and cracks during firing). Red-clay tiles by the Mosaic Tile Company and Mueller Mosaic are also heavily grogged with white particles, but their grog particles are much smaller than those used in Grueby tiles (which in any case are easily distinguished from them on other grounds). Note the raking grooves streaking diagonally across parts of the tile back. This is very distinctive of Grueby red-clay tiles.	Submitted by Richard Mohr.
*REAL* Grueby Red-Clay Tile Back showing these same characteristics. Submitted by Richard Mohr.