Grape and Cable, Fenton

Grape and Cable - Fenton
Fenton's Grape and Cable can easily be confused with that of Northwood. The patterns have the same components, so unless you study the arrangement of the grapes or the various shapes each maker made, it's often hard to tell which is which. An easy way to start is to know that Fenton made only bowls and plates; any other Grape and Cable shapes will be Northwood. Fenton used six unique molds to make its Grape and Cable pieces. Three of the molds have the Grape and Cable pattern on the inside and have plain exteriors. The other three molds have the Grape and Cable pattern on the exterior and typically have Fenton's Persian Medallion pattern on the interior.

Of the three molds with the pattern on the interior, the most common Fenton bowl is like the one in the upper left. In this case, the edge is distinctive with a sort of bracket effect, also shown in the blue bowl to the right, and they have a collar base. These bowls are 7 to 8 inches across. The next bowl to have the pattern on the interior is the three footed bowl pictured above in the center. These have a sawtooth edge, are also about 7 to 8 inches across and are rather scarce. The third bowl with the pattern on the interior is the spatula footed bowl shown to the right above. The spatula footed bowls also have a sawtooth edge and are 8 inches across. Northwood also made spatula footed Grape and Cable bowls and they are almost identical to Fenton's. The best way to tell them apart is to look at the exterior pattern. Northwood's spatula footed bowls have the Meander pattern on the exterior while Fenton's exterior is plain. Red is actually quite common in collar based bowls. Other available colors for these three bowls include amethyst, blue and green. Colors seen less often include aqua, celeste blue, lime green, marigold on moonstone, powder blue and vaseline. Other colors would be considered rare.
Occasionally, a plate made from the spatula footed mold or, even rarer, from the ball footed or collar base mold is found. Plates are found in a more limited range of colors including: amethyst, blue, green and marigold. Collar base plates seem to only be in marigold.

Fenton also made two sizes of fruit bowls that usually have the Persian Medallion interior, though a few are plain inside. Northwood also made two sizes of a large fruit bowl in their Grape and Cable pattern. With the Persian Medallion interior, it is rather easy to tell these Fenton pieces from the Northwood versions which have plain interiors. To tell the difference between Fenton and Northwood fruit bowls if they both have plain interiors, it is easiest to look at the toed feet. Fenton's feet have pronounced ribs while the Northwood feet are smoother. In the center photo above, the amethyst is the typical sized fruit bowl, about 10 inches across and 5 1/2 inches tall. The other is marigold and is the larger size, about 11 inches across and 6 3/4 inches tall. Often when looking at just a photo of a Fenton fruit bowl it is difficult to determine its size. To learn how to tell the difference between a small and a large Fenton Grape and Cable fruit bowl see here. The small bowls, with the Persian Medallion interior, are typically only found in marigold, have three toed feet and are about 5 to 6 inches across. A set of one large and six small bowls would make a fruit set. The two large fruit bowls are typically ruffled. However, on occasion they are flared up, flared out or cupped-in. In these instances, the bowls are referred to as "Centerpiece Bowls". Although found primarily in amethyst, blue and marigold, other colors appear on occasion and include; aqua, green, a rare ice green, smoke, teal, vaseline and white.
	Some of the smaller fruit bowls have applied handles such as the one pictured to the left. In addition, some are used as advertising with "Pacific Coast" on an otherwise plain interior. Occasionally, a tri-corner bowl is whimsied from a fruit bowl such as this amethyst example below.