Niloak is a line of pottery produced by the Eagle Pottery Company of Benton

Benton, Arkansas

Benton is a city in and the county seat of Saline County, Arkansas, United States and a suburb of Little Rock. It was established in 1837. According to a 2006 Special Census conducted at the request of the city government, the population of the city is 27,717, ranking it as the state's 16th largest...

, Arkansas

Arkansas

Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...

. Eagle was founded by Charles Dean Hyten and his brothers in the 1890s and was the largest pottery-ware business in the Benton area by 1904.

In 1909, Arthur Dovey joined Eagle to help Hyten, by then sole owner of the company, develop an operation for the manufacture of art pottery. Together they produced the Niloak product, the name taken from kaolin (a high-grade clay) spelled backwards.

The company was in business from 1909 to 1946. The salient feature of Niloak was its "Mission Swirl," developed by Hyten. The swirl is a multi-colored pattern using different clays and resembling marbled paper. Niloak's Mission Swirl was usually of red, tan, blue and brown in a counter-clockwise direction.

During the Depression

Great Depression

The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...

 years, Eagle manufactured a line of Niloak cast-ware called "Hywood".

See also

• Arts and Crafts Movement
  Arts and Crafts movement
  Arts and Crafts was an international design philosophy that originated in England and flourished between 1860 and 1910 , continuing its influence until the 1930s...
  
  
• Studio pottery
  Studio pottery
  Studio pottery is made by modern artists working alone or in small groups, producing unique items of pottery in small quantities, typically with all stages of manufacture carried out by one individual. Much studio pottery is tableware or cookware but an increasing number of studio potters produce...
  
  
• Pottery
  Pottery
  Pottery is the material from which the potteryware is made, of which major types include earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. The place where such wares are made is also called a pottery . Pottery also refers to the art or craft of the potter or the manufacture of pottery...
  
  
• Pewabic Pottery
  Pewabic Pottery
  Pewabic Pottery is a studio and school located in Detroit, Michigan and founded in 1903. The studio is known for its iridescent glazes, some of which grace notable buildings such as the Shedd Aquarium and Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. Pewabic Pottery is on display...
  
  
• Van Briggle Pottery
  Van Briggle Pottery
  Established in Colorado Springs, Colorado in 1901 by Artus and Anne Van Briggle, the Van Briggle Art Pottery is the oldest continuously operating art pottery in the United States. Artus Van Briggle had a significant impact on the Art Nouveau movement in the United States, and his pottery is...
  
  

Further reading

Collector's Encyclopedia of Niloak: A Reference and Value Guide, 2nd Edition
2000
Publisher: Collector Books
ISBN 1574321900