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Just yesterday I was having an interesting conversation about Zanesville Stoneage Modern, so when I found this piece today I figured it had to be fate. This is the first of these "melon" shaped pieces I've found, and it is letting me put a little theory to test. Most Stoneage Modern pieces are marked with a molded number on the foot of the pot, and this piece is no exception. The number on this particular example is 4404. I hypothesize that this number communicates two things: the shape number of the design, and the size. If this is indeed true, this piece is shape #44 and is one of at least four sizes available.
The first half of the code is where the difficulty arises since I have by no means cataloged all the shapes produced in this vast line, but to date I have not found a piece that doesn't adhere to this schema. Tall cylindrical vases always start with the number 40. Shorter pots with straight vertical walls that cut in at the foot at a 45 degree angle are numbered starting with 70. And now the one "melon" shaped piece begins with 44. Does anyone have other examples, or a piece that doesn't follow this pattern? I have found that the "oriental lantern" shaped design is not ever marked, which I find odd.
The mark on this particular piece also includes "ZSC" -- the initials of the Zanesville Stoneware Company. I've never found others that include this, either! If anything is certain, Stoneage Modern is anything but consistent.
Found on September 14, 2007 in Champaign, IL.
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