Question:
We bought this piece at an estate sale. It is marked "Red Wing USA" on the bottom and has the letter "K" or "R" and the number "71" faintly handwritten in the pottery on the bottom. It is 8-1/2" in diameter and 4" high. We have been told it is possibly a prototype or test piece for a Canister in the CeramaStone pattern, but with no lid. Evidently CeramaStone did not come in white, just colors.

Answer: Ceramastone was Red Wing’s final dinnerware line, introduced about a year before the pottery closed in 1967. You are correct in stating Cermastone was not made in white. The standard colors were orange, dark blue-green and various shades of brown.

When Red Wing went out of business the company’s assets were sold, including the molds used to form dinnerware and art pottery pieces. Many of these molds ended up with art schools and hobby shops. Post-production pieces made from old Red Wing molds marked with the company name (from the mold) are quite common. The glazes on these pieces are not standard Red Wing colors and are frequently rather wild and colorful. Art class students usually mark the bottom of their creations with their initials and year of production. The K or R letter most likely is the initial of the artist and the 71 indicates it was made in 1971. The value of a post-production piece made from an old Red Wing mold is minimal.

Larry