Featured Jim Rumph Jester Jar

My name here on the site is MahlonBlaine as befits my status as a collector of his works, but I could have also been RumphCollector as I run that website and collect the works of Jim Rumph.

The following is a rare as hens teeth Jester Jar designed by Rumph for his pottery studio The Mind Circus. He created under that name, his own name, Ceramarte of Brazil, Image Products, California Originals, and did work for Berney Karp. He died in 1993 after being struck by a hit and run driver. Stories I have heard vary from a total accident to him being run down by his cocaine dealer to whom he owed a bunch of money.

What I want to know is if anyone knows what the writing is on the base under that nightmare fuel face. The only other picture I can find is over on therumph.com and the photo is so small and mean, I just can't make it out.

Rumph Jesterr 1 by MahlonBlaine posted Mar 18, 2019 at 11:45 AM

Rumph Jester 2 by MahlonBlaine posted Mar 18, 2019 at 11:46 AM

 

Could the writing be upside down and/or a mirror reflection?
Don

 

Don't know where my post went........Looks to me like letters 4,5,&6 are CUS. So I'm guessing CIRCUS ......not sure what the last letter might be. Just a Guess on my part.

 

My understanding is that the differences between Dufus and Jester is the hat, the glaze, and the plaque. However none of my sources could tell me what the Jester plaque said. I’ve overlaid the Rumph logo from Dufus and it just doesn’t seem to match up with what is still there on my piece despite trying all sorts of size scaling and distortions in Photoshop.

 

I initially thought that might be the case, but then the spacing would be all wrong if it said Mind Circus. I would assume they would try and center it instead of hap hazardly slapping it on any old place. And then like you said, what comes after cus?

 

It seems unlikely.