Deliciously coloured art vase decorated by Anna Marie Valentien for the Rookwood Pottery 1896. Golden and burnt ochre coloured “standard” glaze with a band of nasturtiums around its neck. Incised Rookwood mark with 10 ‘flames’ dating it to 1896. Incised script monogram AMV for Anna Marie Valentien. The vase measures 21 cm in height and 17.5 cm maximum diameter.
 
The Pottery was founded by Maria Longworth Nichols Storer in 1880, inspired by what she saw at the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia. Through years of experimentation with glazes and kiln temperatures, Rookwood pottery became a popular American art pottery, designed to be decorative as well as useful. After an initial period of, Storer sought a "standard" look for Rookwood and developed (amongst others) the "Standard Glaze", a yellow-tinted, high-gloss clear glaze often used over leaf or flower motifs.
The daughter of German immigrants settling in Cincinnati, Anna studied at the McMichen University School of Design. She joined the Rookwood Pottery in 1884 where she met and married Albert Valentien – staying for 21 years before leaving together with her husband to pursue other artistic interests. Anna and Albert Valentien are considered leading lights in the American Arts and Crafts Movement.