Do you remember a little ceramic planter on your grandmother's windowsill, maybe a rooster or a swan, with a pothos that had been growing in it for twenty years?
Figural planters were everywhere in the middle of the last century. A florist's arrangement for a new baby, a hospital stay or an anniversary often came tucked into one, and when the flowers faded, the planter stayed. That's why so many of them survive today, and why they still feel so familiar. Here's what they are, who made them and how to tell what you've found.
We have 6 figural planters in the shop right now, from a little majolica-style frog at $22 to a Hull USA rooster at $35 and a Viking Glass wheelbarrow at $48.
See the planters →
What a figural planter is
A figural planter is a small pot shaped like something: an animal, a person, a vehicle, a shoe, a cart. The figure is the decoration, and an opening in the back or top holds a plant. Most were made of glazed ceramic, but glass makers made them too. Many have no drainage hole, because they were meant to hold a small potted plant or a florist's arrangement rather than loose soil.
Wall pockets are their close cousins. If yours hangs on a nail instead of sitting on a shelf, our guide to vintage wall pocket vases and planters covers those.
When and where they were made
The heyday ran from about the 1940s through the 1960s. When World War II cut off ceramic imports from Germany and Japan, American potteries, especially in Ohio and California, picked up the slack, and gift shops and florists bought figural pieces by the crate. After the war, importers brought in huge numbers of planters made in Japan, and those became just as common on American shelves.
Makers and marks
- Hull: Hull Pottery was founded in 1905 in Crooksville, Ohio. On June 19, 1950, a flood and the fire that followed destroyed the plant, and the company reopened in 1952 as The Hull Pottery Company. Its florist-ware planters were a staple of flower shops from the 1940s through the 1960s. Hull closed in 1986. Look for "Hull" or "Hull USA" on the base, often with a mold number.
- Napco and Napcoware: Napco, the National Potteries Corporation, was founded in 1938 in Bedford, Ohio. After the war it grew by importing ceramic novelties made in Japan. Look for a Napco or Napcoware stamp or paper label, often with a number.
- California pottery: California had dozens of potteries in the mid-century years, large and small. Hedi Schoop was known for her figural planters, and Metlox made earthenware figures with little attached bowls. Many smaller studios marked their work simply "California" or "Calif." with a mold number, or left it unmarked.
- Glass makers: The New Martinsville Glass Company was founded in 1901 in New Martinsville, West Virginia, and renamed Viking Glass in 1944. Pressed and art glass novelties, including small planters, were part of its line.
For more help reading what's on the bottom, see our guide to reading pottery and porcelain marks.
See it in person: figural planters in the shop
Each one is a single piece, so when it's gone, it's gone.
How to identify a figural planter
- The base: turn it over. An incised or impressed mark is molded into the clay. A stamped mark is printed on. Paper labels often fell off, so a faint glue patch can be a clue.
- Mold numbers: many American potteries numbered their shapes, and collectors use those numbers to match pieces to catalogs.
- Unglazed foot: a raw clay foot ring or base often shows soft discoloration from decades on shelves. That's normal age, not damage.
- Glaze and paint: mid-century pieces often mix a glossy glaze with airbrushed shading and small hand-painted details like lashes, cheeks or feather lines.
- The opening: a planter has a real well for a plant. A figurine has none, and a lamp base has a hole for a fitting and a cord.
Look-alikes and reproductions
Popular shapes have been copied, and modern makers still produce figural planters in a vintage style. Be cautious with a piece that looks brand new, with bright raw clay on the bottom, a too-perfect glaze or soft, blurry molded details. A mark that looks freshly applied, or a well-known maker's name on a shape that doesn't match its catalogs, deserves a second look. Unmarked doesn't mean newer, though. Plenty of real mid-century planters were never marked at all.
Also watch for "majolica-style" pieces. True Victorian majolica is a specific thing, and our majolica guide explains the difference.
Caring for figural planters
- Most have no drainage hole, so keep the plant in a small nursery pot inside and water sparingly, or choose succulents, air plants or dried flowers.
- Standing water can stain unglazed clay and seep into hairline crazing, so empty any extra.
- Wash by hand in lukewarm water with mild soap. Skip the dishwasher, which can dull paint and gold trim.
- Glass planters can crack from a sudden change in temperature, so avoid hot water and sunny spots that heat up.
For more, see our guide to cleaning and caring for vintage finds.
Figural planters in the shop
Our Hull USA Rooster #58 planter is a 6" black and dusty pink bird in excellent condition, marked and made in the USA. The Napcoware A. Chen pale pink diamond pattern planter bowl is 7.5" across with a raised diamond texture all the way around.
Our California pottery girl planter is a rosy-cheeked blonde in a tiered ruffle dress dotted with rosebuds, with an impressed California maker's mark on the base. The ceramic swan planter has green and amber glazed wings with little hanging holes, so she can sit on a shelf or hang. Our majolica-style frog planter is a small green frog on a bark-textured log, just right for a succulent.
From the glass side, the New Martinsville/Viking Glass #737 emerald green wheelbarrow planter glows on a sunny shelf. And if you love figural pieces, our mid-century ceramic fawn lamp base is a sleepy spotted baby deer with a pink bow. It isn't a planter. It's a lamp base sold without hardware, so you can wire it up or simply enjoy it as a figurine. Every piece is the only one we have.
Keep browsing:
Vintage home decor →Figurines & collectables →Collectable glass →
Keep reading: What Is a Wall Pocket? · What Is Majolica? · Collecting Vintage Figurines
Did a figural planter come home with you from the hospital or a florist? We'd love to hear what shape it was and whether you still have it.