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Normandy Vegetable Bowl
This large bowl in the Normandy pattern is decorated with the Normandy apple design on the inside of the bowl. The bottom is marked Red Wing POTTERY HAND PAINTED in what is a really good, dark stamp. On the bottom of this bowl is a curiosity. First, there are a number of grey paint drips. Secondly, the word SAVE is written on the bottom in what might be crayon or a felt-tip marker. Interestingly, both features seem to be under the glaze. So, what did this mean on the production line in the Red Wing Pottery factory? Was there an accident and some paint fell on the bowl in the production line? We may never know. This veggie bowl is in good condition for its age. It has overall light crazing. The inside rim is pocked with multiple flakes of glaze. There are no other chips or cracks. Named for a province in the north of France, Normandy pattern dinnerware displays an overall design with an apple, apple blossoms and apple leaves. A very early Normandy design incorporated only a band of red and blue around the edges. Serving pieces can be found in solid colors of dubonnet red or forest green with white lids and handles shaped to look like apple branches. "The Normandy pattern combines the charm of the Provincial shape with a decoration that is colorful and contemporary yet consistent." States a brochure, "When it's apple blossom time in Normandy' is the inspiration." Along with the Concord line, the Provincial line of dinnerware represented a significant shift in the way that Red Wing Potteries produced dinnerware. For the first time, the Potteries offered dinnerware that was individually hand painted. The dinnerware line was a huge success for the Potteries. With artistic proficiency, the Provincial dinnerware patterns offered an elegant alternative to solid colored dinnerware in the Red Wing portfolio. Red Wing Potteries starting producing the Charles Murphy designed Provincial line dinnerware in 1941. They named each pattern in the Provincial line after a province in France, seemingly to promote the elegance of the line. All patterns in the Provincial line are hand-painted. Red Wing Potteries gradually converted from producing stoneware to dinnerware and art pottery. Starting in the 1930's and through their closure in 1967, Red Wing Potteries produced over a hundred different dinnerware patterns. Forms ranged from traditional shapes to the whimsical. Patterns included every design from floral motifs to the abstract. They produced heavy ceramic, fine china and economy dinnerware sets. Some patterns consisted of mostly flatware with few serving pieces. Some patterns consisted of only serving pieces. Other patterns had both. On the bottom of most Red Wing dinnerware pieces you will find three little dots. These dots are left in the glaze by the little tripod that the Potteries used to support the piece when they fired it in the kiln. The three dots are not damage, they are a remnant of the manufacturing process and authenticate the piece as being actual Red Wing.
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