Question:
Here is a piece of Red Wing i bought at an estate sale. I have not seen another one like it and wondered if it was a rare pattern or if I just havent seen any other pieces of it. It is a bowl that is 11" wide by 4" deep

Answer: According to a July 1942 sales brochure, you have an "Incised Peasant" Salad Bowl. It is one of three items available in the Incised Peasant design. The other two are a Cookie Jar and a Munch Jar (low and squat in shape). The bowl is the only piece that is marked Red Wing. All three items were available in three colors: Brown, Green and White. Unlike most Red Wing hand painted pottery, the peasant figures were cold painted (over the glaze). Because the colors are not sealed under the glaze they are easily removed. After 60-some years many of these pieces have lost a considerable amount of their original paint . Your bowl appears to retain most of the original paint, which makes it more attractive to collectors.

The Incised Peasant line is not rare. The bowl and cookie jar are quite common, while the munch jar is found less frequently from what I’ve seen. An Incised Peasant Salad Bowl in excellent condition and with intact original paint would be worth $25 to $40, with the white color on the low end and green on the high end. Loss of paint detracts from the value, as do any chips and cracks.

Larry