Fenton's Grape and Cable Fruit Bowls
Fenton made these large fruit bowls that usually have the Persian Medallion interior, though a few are plain inside. The bowls are found in two sizes as shown in the photos. The amethyst is the typical size, about 10 inches across and 5 1/2 inches tall. The marigold is the larger size, about 11 inches across and 6 3/4 inches tall.

To tell the difference between a small and a large Fenton Grape and Cable fruit bowl one has to look at the various aspects of the pattern and molding on each one. Unfortunately, many of the design features on these two pieces are the same. They both have 24 flames around the top. They both sit on three scrolled feet. They both have three clusters of grapes separated by three pairs of grape leaves. They both have the cable that encircles the top. Even their collar bases have the same diameter of 2 3/4 inches. Other than one being larger than the other, it appears that they are identical or at least very similar.

But there is one way to tell the difference and that is by looking at the three clusters of grapes themselves. While the number of grapes do differ between the large and the small fruit bowls, it is sometimes hard to count grapes, especially if you are just looking at a picture. The three grape clusters on the smaller fruit bowls have 26, 27 and 32 grapes each, while the three grape clusters on the larger fruit bowls have 30, 32 and 32 grapes each.

It is by looking at the placement of the grapes in the clusters that we can more easily tell the difference. On the smaller fruit bowl, the grapes are placed in almost horizontal rows across the cluster. The grapes on the larger fruit bowl are more random. If one was to try to draw a straight line thru a row of grapes on the larger fruit bowl, that line would have to be diagonal across the cluster and not horizontal.
The grapes above are from the smaller fruit bowl and are placed in essentially horizontal rows across the clusters.
The grapes above are from the larger fruit bowl and are placed more randomly. If one was to draw a line across the top row of grapes in these clusters, that line would go up and down and not straight across. The rows of grapes are in fact not horizontal but diagonal starting low on the left and going up towards the right.