I was especially attracted to the midcentury vibes it was sending my way.
I was intrigued. So, I bought it.
If you love art pottery history, you’ll be intrigued too.
Let the research begin!
The bowl is 11” in diameter and 2.75” tall with matte and glossy blue and matte beige and brown glazes.
The middle interior with blue glossy and brown matte glazes has an incised abstract design and more incised decorations around the interior perimeter of the bowl. The bottom has the blue matte glaze and the outside rim has a layer of blue glossy glaze.
It is inscribed “FILLOUS” on the bottom in the clay in upper case letters.
]]>I was especially attracted to the midcentury vibes it was sending my way.
I was intrigued. So, I bought it.
If you love art pottery history, you’ll be intrigued too.
Let the research begin!
The bowl is 11” in diameter and 2.75” tall with matte and glossy blue and matte beige and brown glazes.
The middle interior with blue glossy and brown matte glazes has an incised abstract design and more incised decorations around the interior perimeter of the bowl. The bottom has the blue matte glaze and the outside rim has a layer of blue glossy glaze.
It is inscribed “FILLOUS” on the bottom in the clay in upper case letters.
The first information I found was an online document dated 1974 when Florence Y. Fillous provided a written biography to the Cleveland Museum of Art. Her primary media listed on the application were ceramics and textiles. Under the Art Training section of her application, it reads: “Special student in design and ceramics, Cleveland School of Art” and “Private studies with Viktor Schreckengost”. During this time, FILLOUS was a macrame teacher.
As I looked deeper for more information, I found a Cleveland Museum of Art questionnaire dated 1957 that states Florence Y. Fillous had “Private Tutorship in Pottery with Viktor Schreckengost”.
The “Private studies and tutorship with Viktor Schreckengost” sparked my interest. I was excited about the possibility of having a piece of pottery created by a student of his.
Viktor Schreckengost (1906 – 2008) was an important American industrial designer as well as a teacher, sculptor, and artist. His wide-ranging work included noted pottery designs, industrial design, bicycle design and seminal research on radar feedback. Schreckengost's peers included designers Raymond Loewy, Norman Bel Geddes, Eva Zeisel, and Russel Wright.
My research continues and I decided to search for images of pottery pieces that were created by the hands of Schreckengost in the 1950’s and perhaps the FILLOUS piece that I have may show a similarity to his style.
Well, I think I found just that! You be the judge.
I found this image of a piece of pottery signed VIKTOR SCHRECKENGOST in upper case letters. It’s titled “Oblongata Vase”, ca. 1950, stoneware, glaze, incised. The signature is incised in the clay in upper case letters on the underside. (see photos below)
Photo Credit: John Polak - Schreckengost Vase – Notice the abstract form in the design.
The FILLOUS piece above also has an abstract form in the design.
Photo Credit: John Polak
Notice the zig-zag design of the “S” in Schreckengost’s incised signature. See the “FILLOUS” incised signature and look at the zig-zag design of the “S”. Both are very similar to each other.
I can see similarities in the abstract form of the designs and the “S” in both artists’ signatures.
Do you see the similarities too?
Do you think my bowl is the work of Florence Y. Fillous?
Please post your thoughts.
I look forward to hearing from you.
2.13.24 - UPDATE: Many thanks to the staff at The Butler Institute and The Cleveland Museum of Art for their efforts in assisting me to confirm the signature mark on this piece of pottery in my collection is in fact the mark of Cleveland artist, Florence Y. Fillous (1912-1997) who had important artist Viktor Schreckengost as a private pottery tutor.
As always, whenever I research an item in my collection, I learn about, not only the subject artist, but about so many other artists as well. In this case, I learned a lot about the artistic relationships between several Cleveland Fillous family members and Viktor Schreckengost.
You can read my blog post “FILLOUS Art Pottery Bowl – Could the artist be a student of Viktor Schreckengost?” to read about my research journey.
Below, you can read more information about Florence Y. Fillous.
Mrs. Robert Fillous (1912-1997) was born in Cleveland. She attended the Cleveland Institute of Art and studied design, ceramics and pottery. Her work has been shown at the Cleveland May Shows, the Butler Institute of Art, the Syracuse Museum of Art, 19th Ceramic National, the Massillon Museum of Art, the Chagrin Artists Association, and the Women’s Cleveland Civic Club. Her work is part of the collection of the Butler Institute.
ART TRAINING:
Special student in design and ceramics at the Cleveland School of Art
Private studies in Pottery with important artist, Viktor Schreckengost
Teacher, Independent Artist – Macrame
PAST EXHIBITIONS:
Butler Institute of Art, Youngstown, Ohio
Cleveland Museum of Art May Shows, 1956
Annual Shaker Show
Syracuse Museum of Fine Art – 19th Ceramic National
Intown Club
Massillon Museum of Art
Textile Arts Club
Women’s Cleveland City Club
Baycrafters
Chagrin Valley Artists Association
Sarasota Museum of Art – Sarasota, FL
Jewish Community Center
COLLECTIONS WHICH NOW INCLUDES HER WORK:
Butler Institute of Art – Collection of Ohio Ceramics
AWARDS:
Butler Institute of Art – Purchase Award
1st place Ceramics, Best in Pottery – Chagrin Valley Artists
1st place Crafts – Landerwood Art Association
Honorable Mention – Textile – Jewish Community Center
_____________________________________
ARTICLE:
“May-in-September Art Show”, by Helen Borsick, Art Editor, September 26, 1965, Cleveland Plain Dealer
“Pottery by Florence Fillous and sculpture by Robert V. Fillous (1913-1993) form a handsome two-man (husband and wife) showing at the Intown Club Gallery. It is a marvelously varied display of talent, in media ranging from clay and metals and glass to epoxy, and in objects that range from bowls and vases and classical figure sculpture to welded steel and glass abstractions, mosaic walls and pedestaled garden flower pots.
The sculpture especially amazes, for the ingenious use of materials and the often playfully spirited design. Most of it is the after-hours output of the artist, whose business day is devoted to making commercial architectural sculpture (Fillous & Ruppell Co.).”
____________________________________
NOTE: It’s interesting to note that Viktor Schreckengost (American, 1906-2008) rented studio space at Fillous & Ruppell where he designed and created the scale models for his Bird Tower reliefs for the Cleveland Zoo, as well as one of the full-size panels, because he didn’t have sufficient space in his own studio for clay works that size. He collaborated with Cleveland woodcarver, James J. Fillous (American, 1912-1991) who carved the designs. James J. Fillous was Florence Fillous’ father-in-law and Robert Fillous’ father.
Schreckengost taught at the Cleveland Institute of Art when Robert Fillous, creator of the "Tree of Knowledge' sculpture in Berea, was a student there. It also shows influences from Schreckengost, with whom Fillous likely studied at the Cleveland Institute of Art.
Therefore, it is evident that many members of the Fillous family worked and studied with Viktor Schreckengost.
]]>
Then, I found these articles:
]]>The soft and silky polyester fabric, sometimes referred to, in vintage advertisements, as crease-resistant nylon jersey, caprolan nylon, banlon, and poly sura. The print designs are colorful with an array of geometric and floral motifs.
I have been searching for information about this label for some time now and all I have found so far is a lot of vintage department store advertisements that refer to Emilio Borghese as a “real person/designer” and a couple of articles that refer to the Emilio Borghese brand as “the manufacturer”, but no clues about who was really behind the Emilio Borghese label. There’s no Emilio Borghese biography anywhere, that I can find. I can’t figure out if Emilio Borghese was a person or just a label name.
I’ve read various blog posts and there seems to be a rumor going around that Emilio Pucci and Princess Marcella Borghese collaborated to create the Emilio Borghese fashion label. As a matter of fact, when I first started my research, I too had those thoughts because I kept coming up with articles that told of their close friendship. Afterall, the Princess was not only the creator of the Borghese cosmetic line where she created bright colored lipstick and nail polish to match Pucci’s colorful prints, but she was also a knit-wear fashion designer herself. And the fact that Pucci was a fashion designer, it made sense to me too. Several 1960’s articles reported event news where both Pucci’s and Borghese’s clothing lines were being shown at the same events. Some fashion news articles mention both of the them and show side-by-side images of models wearing their designs.
Then, I found these articles:
Says Pucci: Pucci Prints MUST Be The Real Thing
by Carolyn Bengston, Fashion Editor, 1966
See image of article below that quotes Pucci’s position about other labels using his name along with a photo of an Emilio Borghese dress (middle image) with the caption: "A colorful copy "In Pucci Manner" from the Emilio Borghese Collection".
There's another article titled
Design Pirates Copy Pucci Styles
New York City, 1966, where Pucci talks more about his thoughts about and action against those who use his name.
Italian designers see lost profits, not flattery in these imitations
By Kay Withers
1980
(Article states that Florentine designer Emilio Pucci took out several lawsuits against imitators)
As you can read from the articles above, Emilio Pucci wasn’t too keen on the many manufacturers that were copying his designs or his name, including Emilio Borghese.
My point is that the rumor about Emilio Pucci and Princess Marcella Borghese collaborating in some way to form the label Emilio Borghese just doesn’t ring true with what I’ve read from past articles.
So, who was Emilio Borghese?
The research that I’ve done shows that the Borghese label was highly marketed and sold at department stores across the country with much focus targeting the traveling female consumer from about 1966 to 1974. Some of the department stores are listed below. I’m listing the names of these department stores just in case someone reads this and perhaps worked at one of them who knows anything about this label. If you are one of those people, it would be great if you could share your knowledge. From what I gather, there are others, like me, who have hit a brick wall when searching for concrete information about this mystery label. Your input would be greatly appreciated by commenting on this blog.
List of known department stores that sold Emilio Borghese dresses:
Belk Lindsey
Bullock’s
Burdine’s
Dillard’s
Emporium
Filene’s
Harvey’s
Hochschild*Kohn
Hudson’s
James Black Co.
Kaufmann’s
Lazarus, Kaufmann’s
Maas Brothers
May Co.
McInerny
Miller & Paine
M. Shwartz & Co.
Roos/Atkins
Stein Mart
Tepper’s
Walker*Scott
Zollinger’s
In a 1973 advertisement for an Emilio Borghese Persian style paisley print dress, the department store Roos/Atkins describes the label like this:
“Shades of Scheherazade” – Emilio Borghese, the master printer, goes to Persia for inspiration. Only Emilio could dream up such a lush paisley patterned dress and interpret it in his own silk-like polyester. Easy-going. Soft. Fit for a maharani in delicate pink and coral.
A 1974 Harvey’s department store advertisement refers to Emilio Borghese as “world-renowned”. FYI…The h.e.v.d. stands for Harvey’s Extra Value Days.
In the early 1970’s, Bullock’s placed numerous advertisements boasting about the elegance of the Emilio Borghese fashions and emphasized that they were washable and packable for the traveler, party hoppers, and tea party goers.
The “charming yarn print”, as the 1972 Bullock’s ad below reads, was available in jade green or royal blue and promoted to be perfect for “party hopping”. I have in my collection two dresses with this print in a royal blue and a bright orange; see prints below. I have seen the dress in jade green, but I don’t have that color in my collection yet. At first glance, you can see how the print looks like real embroidery, but it is a faux design.
1972 Bullock’s Ad: “Opt for the Orient …..dress the part. Think of a tea house ceremony and you have the mood for this striking dress by Emilio Borghese styled in polyester, printed with delicate white cherry blossoms on navy or jade green grounds.”
1972 Bullock’s ad: “The terrific traveler…. dress the part. The smart traveler will pick a pretty stained-glass border print dress by Emilio Borghese in luscious shades of blue and lilac. It is elegantly styled in washable, packable polyester.”
Miller & Payne department store’s 1973 ad headline read: “Have a Roman Holiday in Italian Tile Prints by Emilio Borghese. Emilio Borghese takes his inspiration from the brilliant colorings of Roman tiles for the sophisticated prints and the bright bordered hemlines of these dresses. And he’s done them in Poly-Swa knit for a look and feel that’s soft and silky.”
In a 1966 article, with no noted author, titled
Below are more advertisements from some of the department stores mentioned above.
The last advertisements that I could find were in 1974. So, it appears that the label was in existence from approximately 1966 through 1974.
After all of my research, Emilio Borghese remains a mystery. Who was and what happened to Emilio Borghese?
Can you solve the mystery?
]]>
During her early childhood years, she was surrounded by artists and writers.
Gertrude Stein was her godmother.
]]>When I acquire a piece of vintage clothing for resale at my online shop, it's my nature to find out as much as possible about the designer before I put a price on it. My recent fashion find is a prairie style dress designed by Jane Schaffhausen for her label Belle France. During my research on the internet, I found the following tidbits about her. I am especially amazed with the people she was surrounded by in her childhood years such as Gertrude Stein who was an American novelist, poet, playwright, and art collector who rubbed close elbows with Pablo Picasso, Ernest Hemmingway and Henri Matisse to name a few. Marcel Duchamp was a French-American painter and sculptor and Henry Miller was an American writer. It's no surprise that I read that her inspirations came from museums, the theater, and print archives with all of the artistic influence she gained as a young lady. How do I put a price on a design that was created by such an amazing woman?
Tidbits:
She was born in Paris September 17, 1929.
During her early childhood years, she was surrounded by artists and writers.
Gertrude Stein was her godmother.
Alice B. Toklas baked her cookies.
Marcel Duchamp gave her drawing lessons.
Henry Miller played children’s games with her.
She modeled for Elsa Schiaparelli.
She Studied at Vassar College.
Her first store was in Birmingham, Michigan called the Village Store.
By the time she was 28 years old, she had five stores that eventually expanded to 12.
Her label, Belle France’s revenues totaled $26 million in fiscal 1986.
Her employees at her fashion district office wore only the Belle France dresses.
She didn’t like woman to wear suits; she said woman shouldn’t look like men.
Her father was writer Bravig Imbs.
Her mother was a Latvian countess.
Recipient Entrepreneur Woman’s Award, Woman in Business 1981, Member of Phi Beta Kappa
President, Village Store, Birmingham, Michigan, 1953—1967, New York City, 1961—1977, Belle France, Incorporated, New York York City, 1974—1982, chairman, since 1982.
References: Archives - 1986 AP News Article, 1981 New York Times article
]]>Speaking of shadows, I invite you to look at my Shadow Collection of fabrics and pillows.
Stay tuned for more that I'll be adding to this collection by transforming my shadow photography into design.
Below is a photo that I took of the shadowed steps at the City Hall in Seguin, Texas. The photo next to it shows the design that was derived from the photo. I also digitally color my photos that add texture and interest to the designs.
]]>
...read more
]]>Photo Credit: Alice Lowe
]]>
View the marketing video about the Honeycomb Collection design.
Some tidbits about honeycombs and bees:
Photo Credit: @designsbyalicelowe
A honeycomb is a mass of hexagonal prismatic wax cells built by honey bees in their nests to contain their larvae and stores of honey and pollen
Honey bees consume about 8.4 lb (3.8 kg) of honey to secrete 1 lb (454 g) of wax
The Queen Bee lives 3-4 years, laying 600-800 eggs each day
One pound of honey = 2 million flowers, 55,000 miles, 300 bees
Honeybees fly at 15mph
Honey is the only food with all substances to sustain life
Honeybees communicate by dance & smell
]]>
]]>
Take a look at my opening featured design, Ca' d'Zan No.1, drawn from a photograph that I took of an architectural detail of the exterior of the Ca' d'Zan building on the grounds of The Ringling Museum in Sarasota, Florida. Who would have thought that a minute detail of a building would transform into such a beautiful fabric design. It's available in 24 fabrics including upholstery fabric for your chairs and ottomans. My favorite type is velvet; so soft and buttery!
Stay tuned for more one of a kind designs available exclusively at Designs by Alice Lowe.
Until next time!
All the best,
Alice Lowe
]]>