Folk art is a genre of art that shares the creator’s traditions, offering not just an artistic display but an opportunity to learn about a culture. Antique, new and vintage folk art typically reflects a heritage or location. It can include utilitarian objects and handmade art as diverse as weather vanes, duck decoys, portraiture and paintings, carnival art and quilts.
Quilts are a quintessential part of American folk art but their roots are international, with quilting dating back to Ancient Egypt. The practice spread to Europe and was especially prominent in the Middle Ages, with one of the oldest surviving examples being the Tristan quilt made in Sicily in the 14th century. They were made as bedcovers and clothing, including as a layer for knights to wear beneath their armor. Native American folk art includes functional objects reflecting their heritage, such as baskets, textiles and wooden pieces.
Elsewhere, the vast range of work associated with Mexican folk art includes masks made by Mexican craftspeople for traditional celebrations and ceremonial dances. Mexican masks are part of the country’s folk-art traditions that go back thousands of years and play a role in festivals and theater.
Works in the folk art tradition are valuable because of the skills involved, like weaving, hand-carving wood and even stonework. Many folk artists are self-taught, while some train as apprentices within their community. By using available materials and taking a personal approach to their creations, artists ensure each piece is unique and conveys a story.
During the Great Depression, artistic materials in America were hard to come by, so artisans used discarded wood from cigar boxes and shipping crates to make highly stylized, notched pieces — most often picture frames and boxes — that are today sought after by collectors. This folk art style is called tramp art and was popular from roughly 1870 until the 1940s.
Folk art brings vibrant culture and traditions into your home. Browse an extensive collection of antique, new and vintage folk art on 1stDibs.
Antique Indian Metal Water Jugs, Hand-Crafted Folk Art, 19th Century
Located in Copenhagen, DK
Two large antique rustic metal water jugs handmade by Indian artisans in the 19th century. Large generous belly and flaring neck on every item. Great vintage condition with small de...
Metal
David Eldreth Stoneware Crock Vessel Cobalt Blue Bird, Folk Art Pottery
Located in East Quogue, NY
Charming blue and gray vintage studio pottery crock made by noted American folk potter David Eldreth in Nottingham, Pennsylvania, dated 1996. This wheel-thrown stoneware vessel features a classic salt-glazed exterior and a hand-decorated cobalt blue...
Ceramic, Pottery, Stoneware
German Folk Art Grey and Cobalt Blue Stoneware Jar
Located in Dusseldorf, DE
A very decorative German folk art grey stoneware jar with cobalt-blue painting from the 1st half of the 20th century. This piece has received a beautiful warm patina over the years. Traditional Westerwald stoneware is a type of ceramic ware that was produced in the lower Westerwald and the Kannenbäckerland in the early modern period. Since the 17th century, it has been one of the dominant types of German stoneware. The technique for producing grey stoneware with cobalt blue painting proved...
Stoneware
$1,011
Chinese rice barrel
Located in 'S-HERTOGENBOSCH, NL
Rice barrel with lid. Decorated with cartouches with flowers and butterflies. China, early 19th century.
Wood
Stoneware Jars with Cobalt Blue Floral Motif from Westerwald, Germany, Set of 3
Located in Grythyttan, SE
Crafted in the traditional style of gray pottery adorned with cobalt blue floral motif, these salt-glazed stoneware jars hails from the Westerwald...
Stoneware
Folk Art Stoneware Jar with Cobalt Blue Floral Motif from Westerwald, Germany
Located in Grythyttan, SE
Crafted in the traditional style of gray pottery adorned with cobalt blue floral motif, this salt-glazed stoneware jar hails from the Westerwald r...
Stoneware
Spanish Green Terracotta Bottle Vase / Vessel, 1940s
Located in Barcelona, ES
Eye-catching vase in green unglazed terracotta. Spain, 1940s Catalan unglazed urn vase in green terracotta. Long neck and swollen body with engraved dot details at the bottom part El...
Earthenware, Terracotta, Pottery
Spanish Green Ceramic Jug Vase, 1950s
Located in Barcelona, ES
Eye-catching Andalusian Handled Jar or Vessel in Green Glazed Ceramic. Spain, 1950s This outstanding jar vase has engraved geometric details thorough creating a beautiful pattern. Si...
Ceramic, Majolica
German Folk Art Grey and Cobalt Blue Stoneware Jar
Located in Dusseldorf, DE
A very decorative German folk art grey stoneware jar with cobalt-blue painting from the 1st half of the 20th century. Traditional Westerwald stoneware is a type of ceramic ware that was produced in the lower Westerwald and the Kannenbäckerland in the early modern period. Since the 17th century, it has been one of the dominant types of German stoneware. The technique for producing grey stoneware with cobalt blue painting proved...
Stoneware
A beautifully hand-painted Portuguese ceramic jar featuring rich blue tones.
Located in Hundested, DK
A beautifully hand-painted Portuguese ceramic jar featuring rich cobalt blue tones and floral decoration. Crafted in São Pedro do Corval, the piece reflects the region’s long-standin...
Ceramic
$500 / set
Set of Antique Handmade Bottles
Located in Mexico City, CDMX
Circa 1940, we offer this set of antique handmade bottles. The amber bottle has a scratch, but it is not broken. *see pic 3.
Glass
Pair of Antique Handmade Water Bottles
Located in Mexico City, CDMX
Circa 1940, we offer this pair of antique handmade water bottles.
Glass
$1,836Sale Price|20% Off
19thc 3 Gallon Decorated Jug From Pennsylvania
Located in Los Angeles, CA
19Thc Original decorated stoneware three gallon jug with lots of blue decorated floral glaze. The condition is pristine. Found in Pennsylvania.
Pottery
$600Sale Price|29% Off
18th Century Wooden Apothecary Jar
Located in Copenhagen, K
Wooden pharmaceutical apothecary jar, marked "CARB LIGN PR".
Wood
German Folk Art Grey and Cobalt Blue Stoneware Jar
Located in Dusseldorf, DE
A very decorative German folk art grey stoneware jar with cobalt-blue painting from the 1st half of the 20th century. Highly extraordinary detail on this unique piece is the floral painting that looks a bit like a skull. Traditional Westerwald stoneware is a type of ceramic ware that was produced in the lower Westerwald and the Kannenbäckerland in the early modern period. Since the 17th century, it has been one of the dominant types of German stoneware. The technique for producing grey stoneware with cobalt blue painting proved...
Stoneware
Collection of 8 Glass And Metal German Tankards
Located in Haddonfield, NJ
A collection of 8 pieces of tankards in glass with metal lids from the end of the 19th Century and beginning of the 20th Century. Probably these have been used for beer drinking. Fou...
Metal
1880s Decorated Salt Glaze Stoneware Jug Stamped 1 MILLER & WOODARD STRASBURG VA
Located in Hyattsville, MD
Nice old decorated salt glaze stoneware jug stamped 1 MILLER & WOODARD STRASBURG VA. There are chips and cracks present, and pictured. "1" gallon capacity mark, cylindrical form with...
Stoneware
European Folk Art - Naive Trinket Jar in Glazed Terracotta, 1970s
Located in Esbjerg, DK
Folk Art ceramic trinket jar hand-glazed and decorated naively with floral patterns. Signed - by an un-identified Scandinavian/European ceramist circa 1970-75. Measurements: H: 1...
Terracotta
Set of 3 Antique South German Stoneware Jugs – 19th Century, Handcrafted
Located in Antwerp, BE
Set of 3 Antique South German Stoneware Jugs – 19th Century, Handcrafted A striking trio of 19th-century handmade stoneware jugs from Southern Germany, each with its own distinct ch...
Stoneware
Vintage Mexican Enamelware
Located in Mexico City, CDMX
We offer this vintage Mexican enamelware, circa 1940.
Metal, Enamel
$206Sale Price|30% Off
Vintage Majolica Lidded Jar - Eggplant Form - Hand Painted Leaves - 20th Century
Located in Chatham, ON
Vintage majolica hand painted lidded jar - eggplant form - molded ceramic - unsigned - mid 20th century. Excellent vintage condition - minor manufacturing flaws consistent with hand...
Ceramic
$675Sale Price|25% Off
Glazed Ceramic Crock Lamp with English Royal Coat of Arms
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Interesting and large glazed ceramic crock or jar made into a table lamp featuring the English royal coat of arms on one side. This large earthenware ves...
Brass
Big Clay Jar from 1800 Sweden in Warm Tones
Located in Forest, BE
Interesting jar from the 19th century. Coming from Sweden and used by folks in the countryside. Warm tones glaze, with nice details to the foot. Very good condition.
Clay
Sculptural Southeast Asian Stoneware Jar with Elephant and Figures
Located in Antwerp, BE
A monumental sculptural Southeast Asian stoneware jar decorated with a lively ceremonial procession featuring dancers, drummers and an elephant with rider rendered in hand-applied re...
Ceramic
19th Century Qing Dynasty Cobalt Blue Martaban Jar with Dragon Motif
Located in Yonkers, NY
An antique Chinese Qing Dynasty period cobalt blue glazed Martaban jar from the 19th century with dragon, flower and cloud motifs, swan neck loops and ung...
Ceramic
$1,000Sale Price|20% Off
H 7 in Dm 9 in
Large MCM Studio Pottery Lidded Stoneware Vessel by Joel Edwards
By Joel Edwards, Peter Voulkos
Located in San Diego, CA
Large MCM studio pottery lidded stoneware vessel by Joel Edwards, circa 1960s. The incised piece is in very good condition with no chips or cracks and measur...
Stoneware
$1,177 / set
H 9.85 in W 4.73 in D 4.73 in
Pair of 19th century folk art stoneware ceramic bottles realised in La Borne
Located in Neuilly-en- sancerre, FR
La Borne - France Realised circa 1850 Pair of 19th century stoneware ceramic bottles unique pieces Original good condition number one height 25 cm large 12 cm number two heigh...
Ceramic
vintage stamped stoneware jar with lid
Located in Seattle, WA
vintage stamped stoneware (not confirmed material) jar with lid. Vintage condition as pictured. Listing is for described item only.. Dimensions: 4"W 5"H
Stoneware
Chinese Rice Barrel
Located in San Francisco, CA
A decorative wooden Chinese rice barrel.
Wood
$2,800
H 17 in Dm 13 in
Chinese Barrel-Form Brass Urn with Traditional Archaistic Ornamentation and Lid
Located in Palm Desert, CA
A Chinese four-legged barrel-form brass urn cast and engraved with archaistic decoration from the 20th century. The gently rounded sides are cast with the dispersed elements of two taotie masks, Archaistic auspicious beasts formed by a pair of stylized and confronted dragons which constitutes the features of this mythical creature, abstractly rendered in low-relief hooked curls. Two bands of kui or passing dragons flank the taotie ornamentation on the belly, all upon an engraved and very finely delineated white leiwen ground symbolizing thunder. Raised on four atlantes with a few anatomical engraved details, the urn possesses a flat circular lid decorated with stylized birds and topped with a phoenix-shaped knob with a ring, a propitious symbol in Chinese art. The white engraved ground nicely contrasting with the dark patina along with the Archaistic traditional low relief decoration echoes Chinese archaic ritual bronzes used in ceremonies or buried in the tombs of the elites for use in the afterlife. This Chinese barrel...
Brass
$630 / item
H 11.82 in Dm 2.96 in
Modern Mexican Rustic Clay Vessel Bottle Pottery Made in Oaxaca Stripes Folk Art
Located in Queretaro, Queretaro
This natural color ceramic piece is a faithful copy of an old blown glass bottle, used as a container for wine, mezcal or schnapps. Omar designs this piece highlighting its imperfect...
Pottery, Clay
$137Sale Price|50% Off
H 6.5 in Dm 5.12 in
Vintage Chinese Porcelain Ginger Jar, Cobalt Blue, Qianlong Style
Located in Glasgow, GB
A vintage Chinese, cobalt blue ginger jar - circa 1970s - Qianlong Stamp Decorated with hand-enamelled chinoiserie-style framed scenes to both ...
Enamel
German Folk Art Grey and Cobalt Blue Stoneware Jar
Located in Dusseldorf, DE
A very decorative German folk art grey stoneware jar with cobalt-blue painting from the 1st half of the 20th century. Traditional Westerwald stoneware is a type of ceramic ware that was produced in the lower Westerwald and the Kannenbäckerland in the early modern period. Since the 17th century, it has been one of the dominant types of German stoneware. The technique for producing grey stoneware with cobalt blue painting proved...
Stoneware
$500
H 8.67 in Dm 7.49 in
Authentic Talavera Decorative Vase Folk Art Vessel Mexican Ceramic Blue White
Located in Queretaro, Queretaro
Elegant white and blue vessel made with the Talavera technique. Artist, Cesar Torres portraits the colonial art of Mexico. The Talavera is not just a simple painted ceramic: its exquisite decoration is the product of a delicate process of alchemy that translates into fine enamels. In Puebla, Mexico few people still produce using Talavera with the ancestral techniques. One of those few is Cesar Torres, Don Cesar learned his art in the workshop of the Uriarte family, an excellent workshop where his grandfather worked. In his creations he uses the black and white mud that is obtained from the nearby hills of Loreto and Guadalupe, and colors of mineral origin that he creates in his workshop with recipes from his grandfather. All the pieces are modeled in a traditional way and go through a production process that usually takes from one to two months, between drying, burning, and painting. Being surrounded by a living tradition, Cesar Torres Jr., learned from his father since childhood. Architect by profession, Cesar Jr. has come to revolutionize and modernize with new designs and ideas of the current world, nevertheless always respecting the tradition of the processes and materials that make Talavera a Creole art...
Clay, Ceramic, Majolica
Swedish ‘Dug-Out Barrel’ / Laggarkärl, 1800s
Located in Farsta, SE
Swedish ‘Dug-Out Barrel’ / Laggarkärl, 1800s Its size and stunning organic shape make it truly remarkable. Made from a single solid dug-out pine trunk with an attached bottom, perf...
Pine
19th Century Chinese Ceramic Rice Wine Jar - Shanxi
Located in Basingstoke, Hampshire
A large 19th-century Chinese rice wine jar From Shanxi Province - circa 1890. Displaying a graceful design where elements of the hand-shaped details are ...
Ceramic
Sold
H 17.25 in W 11 in D 12.5 in
Hand-Sculpted Ceramic Pitcher with Faces by Rolando Regino Porras, Oaxaca, Mex.
By Rolando Regino Porras
Located in Brooklyn, NY
This striking hand-sculpted ceramic pitcher was created by Rolando Regino Porras, son of the renowned Oaxacan ceramicist Dolores Porras, whose legacy has profoundly shaped the region’s folk art traditions. Each face adorning the vessel is meticulously modeled by hand, giving the piece a rhythmic texture and a sense of collective expression. The artist uses natural, organic pigments to paint the flowing black hair and warm terracotta-toned faces, resulting in a surface that feels both alive and deeply rooted in Oaxacan aesthetic heritage. The glossy finish enhances the sculptural details and brings out the subtle variations in tone and texture. This work embodies the continuation of a family tradition that merges indigenous techniques, surreal form, and personal symbolism—a true testament to the living legacy of Oaxaca’s ceramic...
Ceramic
Vintage decorative Asian ceramic rice wine jar
Located in Turku, Varsinais-Suomi
Elevate your home decor with this exquisite early 20th-century decorative rice wine jar from Asia, most probably China. Expertly crafted from glazed terr...
Terracotta
Chinese Red Lacquer Ginger Jar, c. 1900
Located in Chicago, IL
This petite wooden ginger jar charms with squat proportions and a red lacquer finish with fantastic, timeworn texture. Composed of turned wood, the small jar has rounded sides with a...
Wood
Michoacan Green Glazed Clay Large Pottery Pineapple Sculpture Made in Mexico
By Hilario
Located in Topeka, KS
Magnificent Michoacan large or overscale green glazed clay pottery pineapple jar/sculpture Made in Mexico in the style of Hilario Alejos Madrigal...
Pottery
German Folk Art Grey and Cobalt Blue Stoneware Jar
Located in Dusseldorf, DE
A very decorative German folk art grey stoneware jar with cobalt-blue painting from the 1st half of the 20th century. Traditional Westerwald stoneware is a type of ceramic ware that was produced in the lower Westerwald and the Kannenbäckerland in the early modern period. Since the 17th century, it has been one of the dominant types of German stoneware. The technique for producing grey stoneware with cobalt blue painting proved...
Stoneware
German Folk Art Grey and Cobalt Blue Stoneware Jar
Located in Dusseldorf, DE
A very decorative German folk art grey stoneware jar with cobalt-blue painting from the 1st half of the 20th century. Traditional Westerwald stoneware is a type of ceramic ware that was produced in the lower Westerwald and the Kannenbäckerland in the early modern period. Since the 17th century, it has been one of the dominant types of German stoneware. The technique for producing grey stoneware with cobalt blue painting proved...
Stoneware
Lovely Old Tavern Copper Ale Jug, Shop Display This is a great piece
Located in Godshill, Isle of Wight
Lovely Old Tavern Copper Ale Jug, Shop Display This is a great piece, it is made in hand beaten copper, which has a beautiful aged colour The Jug was originally an Ale Jug, it has ...
Copper
German Folk Art Grey and Cobalt Blue Stoneware Jar
Located in Dusseldorf, DE
A very decorative German folk art grey stoneware jar with cobalt-blue painting from the 1st half of the 20th century. Traditional Westerwald stoneware is a type of ceramic ware that was produced in the lower Westerwald and the Kannenbäckerland in the early modern period. Since the 17th century, it has been one of the dominant types of German stoneware. The technique for producing grey stoneware with cobalt blue painting proved...
Stoneware
Sold
H 10.5 in W 7 in D 6 in
18th C. Portuguese Blue & White Faience Figural Bear Container With Club, Rare
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
Just in! This rare 18Th C. Portuguese Faience Blue & White Figural Bear Container With Club, this is called a baiting vessel/jar. A sitting Bear holding a club box. This Bear has th...
Faience
Mortar in red marble
Located in 'S-HERTOGENBOSCH, NL
Hand carved mortar in red marble, France, ca. 1800
Griotte Marble
Colorfoul Chinese jar
Located in 'S-HERTOGENBOSCH, NL
Colorfoul Chinese wooden jar with lid. Decorated with wood-carved figures in relief and 2 lion heads.
Wood
Large Hand Blown Antique Glass Jar
Located in Chireno, TX
Large hand blown antique glass jar with bluish-green tint. Three available is varying sizes and shapes (see last three images). Each sold individual...
Blown Glass