We’ve come across quite a few Moreno Ceramics items lately in the thrifts and swap meets. These are rather fun to collect, because they generally fly under the radar. I do think that they’re getting a little bit more popular with midcentury modern folks as well as those who collect 70s items. But most people have no idea what they are, even though most of them have clear backstamps.

In the past, the most common Frank Moreno items we’ve found have been the “globes”, simple pottery spheres with interesting glazes. We came across these two planters that have a bit of a different shape to them. They remind me slightly of some of Architectural Pottery’s ceramics, specifically the La Gardo Tackett items. I’m not sure what to call that shape, maybe a sort of double trapezoid.

The two are clearly the same shape and made by the same company - in the case of the blue one the marking is quite clear. It has a different Moreno type of backstamp, in which the company is inscribed in a large rectangle on the bottom. The shape is noted as “LB-2″ - I was wondering if that might stand for “large bowl” or “low bowl”.

Funny, but at the store I saw an identical blue one that had absolutely no markings at all. I didn’t pick it up at the time, because I didn’t need two of the same color. However, a few days later I found the yellow / brown drip glaze one. That one didn’t seem to have a marking at first on back, but when I compared the two, you could see a faint outline of the rectangle on the back with faint writing that matched the blue one.