Posted by Ernie Dieringer As you'll see from the pictures, the dish appears to be ironstone? due to the crizzling effect of the glaze. Unfortunately, the crizzling makes the makers mark difficult to see. The dish has a diameter of 7 inches and is 1 1/2 inches high. The makers mark appears to spell the letters LINUNER and has a picture underneath the lettering. The closest match to LINUNER that I could find was the Lindner manufacturer in Germany in 1930's. The maker's mark is not stamped into the clay, but rather in the blue glaze. It is possible that the dish is intrusive to the site (meaning it was dropped overboard by a later time period vessel or floated onto the site). I hope that with your expertise you may be able to help us solve this mystery. We are grateful for any advice. Thanks again and I look forward to hearing from you. Sincerely, Susanne Grieve <
on January 5, 2006, 11:21 am
Dear Mr. or Mrs. Dieringer,
I was referred to the WICA by the Kovel's in reference to an ironstone dish that we have in our collection.
The dish was found on the wreck site of the USS Monitor (an 1864 ironclad) off of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. The Mariners' Museum in conjunction with NOAA excavated and raised portions of the vessel over the past 5 years. This particular piece was found heavy concreted (embodied in a hard mixture of sand and shell that resembles concrete) near the engine room of the vessel. I have included 4 pictures for your review:
a) The dish as it was found
b) The interior of the dish after cleaning (showing the willow ware)
c) The exterior of the dish showing the size and location of the makers mark
d) A close up view of the makers mark
U.S.S. Monitor / The Mariners' Museum
Assistant Conservator
100 Museum Drive
Newport News, VA 23606
Office: (757) 591-7768
Fax: (757) 591-7312
E-mail: sgrieve@mariner.org
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