Question:
We acquired this crock at auction, and was told by the auctioneer, afterward, that the glob of syrupy looking stuff under the glaze was called a "turkey dropping", and happened during the glazing process, and we sure were lucky to get that one. What’s the poop on this story? Is the "luck" real? Or is it all TS? (not bs, ts!) We don’t think we were fibbed to, but we lean toward skepticism with regard to any "luck" that comes our way at auctions. It’s really a great piece, though. We say "What a crock!" Thanks for your help. This info. site is outstanding!

Answer: Yes, the glob is called a "Turkey Dripping or Dropping". But on a crock such as yours and where it has landed does not add or take any thing away from your piece. On salt glaze jugs and where they land can add to their beauty and value. However, land on the decoration or take away from it’s beauty and value will go down. Turkey drippings or droppings come from the kiln during the salt glaze days when rock salt was thrown into the kiln when the temperature was at it’s highest point. The rock salt crystallized and coated on the ware in the kiln (plus the kiln) with a salt glaze. After many firings the kiln became so coated with the salt glaze that the ceiling started to drip. When the dripping began to affect the quality of the ware coming out, the kiln was cooled and then cleaned of the excess glaze or salt film. Now you know. Sounds like you have a great piece of Red Wing. Al Kohlman