Collectors Guide to Roseville Pottery Crocus, 1904

What is Crocus?
Crocus is a line of art pottery produced in 1904 by the Roseville Pottery Company in Zanesville, Ohio.

Who designed Crocus?
The Crocus line was designed by Frederick Rhead.

The Crocus vases produced by the Roseville Pottery Company have long been associated and confused with the later Aztec line. The Crocus line differs from Aztec in a few critical attributes. Crocus vases are brush-applied designs, each an art nouveau stylization of crocus flowers, whereas the Aztec line is decorated by a squeeze-bag technique, and generally have sparser decorative accents.

Each vase was produced in a number of standard color themes, each covered in a high-gloss glaze. These are:

Black with blue, green, and yellow decoration
Brown with orange and yellow decoration
Grey with white and yellow decoration
Green with orange, blue, and yellow decoration

When was Crocus made?
The Crocus line was only produced in 1904.

There are no known catalog pages detailing the number of shapes or colors offered. Less than a dozen shapes are known. A few of the shapes were reused in the later Aztec line with a different decoration.

Below are known shapes and designs.

  • Crocus Colors

    Crocus Bottle Vase in 3 Colors

  • Crocus Banded Nozzle Bud

    Crocus Banded, Nozzle, and Bud Vases

  • Crocus Bouquet Cylinder Arrow

    Crocus Bouquet, Cylinder, and Arrow

  • Crocus Jard Hourglass Tall

    Crocus Jard, Hourglass, and Tall Vases

If you have more questions, we are certain you will find the answers in the following books. Each of these books is highly recommended for collectors of Roseville Pottery. The owners of this website may receive compensation for qualified sales of the books.