This pottery is a bit of a mystery - while we have seen many of them, and there are many known pieces being sold online, we haven’t been able to find detailed information on Frank Moreno Ceramics. Neither Chipman or Lehner seems to have information about this California potter, which is a shame since the pieces are so nice.

It seems that there is some information about the potter named Frank Moreno - some of it is probably accurate, while we can’t be sure of other information. It is generally assumed that it is correct that he was a potter who produced mostly vases, bowls and other gardenware and decorative ware sometime between 1940 and 1970.

But I found one footnote that seems to show some interesting information. It stated that he was actually one of the descendents of the famous pioneer Frank E. Brown, for whom the Moreno Valley (near Riverside, CA) was named. Brown of course is “Moreno” in Spanish, and it was said that the name was changed because of financial troubles. I would like to stress that I’ve found no supporting documentation that backs up this story, but I’m just including it here anyhow.

As said before for the actual wares he produced, Moreno has a distinct style that usually (but not always) follows a few rules: 1. Very glossy finish 2. drip glaze that can range from nearly monochromatic to many different colors being used and 3. circular or globe-like in shape.

After finding the one piece pictured here which is a very typical example of Moreno Ceramics, I decided to do some comparisons with the items being sold. While this “globe” shape was also produced with variations (somewhat cylindrical, but diamondshaped, etc) they are basically the same, and I’ve broken it down into what I’m calling 1-Globes, 2-Globes, 3-Globes, 4-Globes and 5-Globes. Note: this is just my OWN interpretation and names for the pieces, so you can call them whatever you like. The reasons for the numbers is that they usually are marked in this way on the bottom, and indicate sizes (approximated) thusly:

1-Globe - 4″ tall / 6.25″ diameter / 4.5″ mouth
2-Globe - 4.5″ tall / 8.5″ diameter / 5.5″ mouth
3-Globe - 6″ tall / 9.5″ diameter / 6.5″ mouth
4-Globe - 6.5″ tall / 12″ diameter / 8.0″ mouth
5-Globe - 8″ tall / 14″ diameter / 11.0″ mouth

I have seen all sorts of different treatments for the glazes - there is one Ebay store seller who has a ton of them, have a look to see all the different types. (I have to say I think they are EXTREMELY overpriced in the stores. I personally wouldn’t pay more than $20 for a bowl, unless it had a spectacular drip glaze and color and was perfectly mint.) I’ll try and update this page with other shapes and numbers as time goes on, as I have a strong interest in this pottery.

As for the markings, luckily most of the pieces are marked in-mold, usually something to the effect of “Moreno Ceramics” or “Frank Moreno Ceramics”. For the Globes, you will see a number indicating the size usually. In addition, mine and some others I’ve seen have an “X” underneath the backstamp. Not sure what that indicates. The stamp almost looks handdrawn to me. There are some other pieces that have a “neater” looking mark that looks like a stamp. The non-Globe pieces will have other types of numbers - I’ve seen several in the 700s.

Update 6/1/2008: Funny, just a few days after I put together this gallery I came across another Frank Moreno piece and it wasn’t one of the Globe pieces. I found a low bowl or planter in a plain pink glaze that I almost thought was a newer item until I looked at the bottom. It’s only two inches high and is also footed unlike the Globes which have a heat ring. It has a diameter of about 6.5 inches. The glaze has a few weird blue dots inside of it here and there - not sure what that comes from. It is marked with “Frank Moreno U.S.A.” and looks a little different than the Globe stamp. The pictures are below…

Note: We've tried to provide as much info as possible on this pottery maker or artist. For further info, you may want to research the items they have on Ebay listed under this name. We've tried to hand tailor the searches below so they will bring up the most accurate results. If there are no results, it will list general California pottery.