Four Flowers and Variants – lots of Variants!
Dugan
Four Flowers pattern was done in the US by Dugan. It can be found in a berry set with large and sauce bowls as well as a Chop Plate (10” to 11”) and small plates measuring 6” to 7” (actually sold together as a cake set). The pattern has 4 stemmed stippled flowers that alternate with 4 crossed stippled crescents (that look a bit like claws).
The large bowls measure between 8 ½” to 11”, are collar base, the edge treatments are 2 Sides up, flared, ICS, 6, 8 or 10 ruffle and tri-cornered. They can be found with a plain or soda gold back pattern.
The sauce bowls measure 5” to 6”, are collar base, the edge treatments are either flared and 6 or 8 ruffle, and they usually have a plain back.
The marigold bowls tend to have the soda gold back and have a sawtooth edge while the other colors have smooth edges.
The Chop Plates measure 10” to 11”, have a collar base and either the plain or soda gold back pattern.
The small plates measure 6” to 7”, have a collar base and a basketweave (BW Back) or plain back pattern.
Plates have smooth edges.
Eda/Riihimaki
The Four Flowers pattern was apparently copied by both Eda (of Sweden) and Riihimaki (of Finland). The easiest way to tell the difference between the US and European versions is that the base on the European versions is ground (not collar).
Telling the difference between the Eda and Riihimaki versions is difficult at best since the differences are very subtle. Blue and marigold were done by both companies.
The square blue bowl pictured measured 7 ¾” across and the leaves and flower stems are actually 3 separate stems from the center going out.
On the 10 ruffle blue bowl pictured, which measured 10” across, the flower and leaf stems are not as separate at the center.
Brockwitz
Moving on to the Four Flowers Variant pattern(s), research has uncovered the manufacturer. Brockwitz of Germany made this pattern in a variety of colors; the pattern is different from the Four Flowers because inside of the stippled crescents are a stemmed flower bud (on the large and standard sizes). The flowers also have a much longer stem, bringing them out closer to the edge of the pattern. This European version, again, will have a ground base.
This pattern is available in large, standard and medium sized bowls, a chop plate and standard size plates.
The large bowls measure 9 3/4” to 11” and are flared or 8 ruffle with a scalloped edge.
The standard bowls measure 8” to 9 ½” and are flared or 8 ruffle with a scalloped edge. The back can be plain or have a thumbprint pattern.
The medium bowls measure 6 ½” to 7 ½” are 6 ruffle with a scalloped edge and a thumbprint back – they do NOT have the stemmed flower bud between the crescents but do have a ground base and are available in the same colors as the standard sized bowls. You could probably call them a variant of the variant! But we won’t – there are already enough things to confuse us!
The chop plate measures about 11” and the standard sized plates are 9” to 10”. The back can be plain or have a thumbprint pattern.
So, in a nutshell:
Dugan – Four Flowers, alternating flowers and overlapping crescents, collar base.
Eda/Riihimaki – Four Flowers, alternating flowers and overlapping crescents, ground base.
Brockwitz – Four Flowers Variant, all but medium size bowls have alternating flowers and overlapping crescents with a stemmed flower bud inside, pattern goes out further to the edge, ground base. Variation on the medium sized bowls have no flower buds, ground base & thumbprint back.
