Waterspout

German emigre Herman Carl Mueller founded the Mueller Mosaic Tile Company in Trenton, New Jersey, in the former location of the Artistic Porcelain Company. A skilled sculptor and experienced, Mueller received formal art training was at the Nuremberg School of Industrial Arts, and then the Munich Academy of Fine Arts, after which he apprenticed with different sculptors in Germany. After he emigrated to America in 1878, he worked at several art potteries in the country, including the Matt Morgan Art Pottery (Cincinnati), the Kensington Art Tile Co., (Newport, KY)American Encaustic Tiling Company, the Mosaic Tile Company, both in Zanesville, as well as the National Tile Company and the Robertson Art Tile company in Morrisville, PA. He was multi-talented, working in addition to a designer an modeler, a salesman and business manager. Mueller was also an important educator, and was on the faculty of the Trenton School of Industrial Arts, where he also served as a trustee. His work in Trenton was largely architectural tile and terra cotta work, and can be found throughout NJ and beyond, and even in the US Embassy in Tokyo. He was also commissioned to provide tiles for pools. It is likely that this example was intended for a garden pool. The piece is robust and engaging, and a good example to represent this important artist’s work at the later part of his career.