From: Gary Tefft / locustent@aol.com
Location: Menomonee Falls, WI
Date: 03 Sep 1998
Time: 22:13:46
I'm glad that you looped back in Amy. I was wondering whether I had deduced correctly that your piece was a cap bowl. You threw me by your size estimate of a 2-pound butter jar, though. A 5-inch cap bowl would be just about the same size as a 2 or 3-pound butter jar. I believe that potters may have traditionally measured the ware as the size that it was when it was still moist from making. A clay vessel typically shrinks 10% in size as it dries and a like proportion during firing. Potters are not known for the precision of their volume or capacity descriptions. E.T. Mallory, Minnesota Stoneware Company's first superintendant ackowledged as much in eary business letters. He spoke of, "10-gallon jars, (hold about 8)" when describing ware to prospective customers.
Your latest question touches on a dear subject to Bonnie and me. For years we have had a cap bowl as one of our specialities. No, unlike the regular panelled spongeware bowls, cap bowls aren't glazed on the rim and not all have a molded-in number and letter, 7A, 7B or 7C on the bottom. There are two styles that are most common, the one with alternating full-height ribbed and half-height ribbed panels; alternating full-height ribs and smooth panels and smooth-sided. There are about four variations of smooth-sided bowls and blue-banded, all-white and all blue in addition to sponged. Then there are the ones with the raised "dot" pattern and (I swear) one with raised stars. We've only seen the five inch variety in sponge or in white and in only one style of ribbed alternating with smooth panels. The only lids we've seen for the 5-inch are in white, whereas we've see both sponge and white for the more common 7-inch.
-Gary-