Question:Hi, we have a piece of pottery, that may be of interest. It’s round and is 8 inches and is about 4 and one half inches tall with a lid with a finial, and has people dancing and some floral patterns on it. It is made of crockery and is fairly heavy, may be butter crock. It looks just like this piece, but ours is shorter. Can you can be of any help in identifing it? Thanks Jo Anne

Answer: Based on your description you have an "Incised Peasant" Munch Jar. The item in the photo is an Incised Peasant cookie jar. A July 1942 sales brochure shows three items available in the Incised Peasant design: Munch jar, cookie jar and salad bowl. 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 . The more original paint remains on the piece, the more attractive it is to collectors.

The Incised Peasant line is not rare. The bowl and cookie jar are quite common, while the munch jar seems to turn up less frequently. An Incised Peasant munch jar in excellent condition and with intact original paint would be worth around $40 to $60, 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