ID Help Cauldron

D Yates

New member
Hi all,
I’m trying to get an id on this cauldron (?) I inherited. It’s supposed to be from my great-great grandmother. I know my grandmother used it as a wash pot.

18 1/4” diameter
13” tall
3 triangular legs
“12” on bottom
2 x gate marks on bottom (I think anyway)
Heavy ring about 1/2 way up the side.

I’m completely new at this although I do own and use newer cast iron. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
 

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Older, unmarked, bottom-gated pieces are virtually impossible to ID as to maker. A time frame of production can be estimated from characteristics like the shapes of handles, legs or bail attachments, but usually only as close as the early or latter half of a century. I understand the "gray book" attempts to narrow the time period according to design trends, but large format pieces continued to be produced using bottom gating for quite some time after the switch to side gating on stove top pieces, so it could be more recent than the bottom gating suggests. This piece has the appearance of being made in the 1800s, but Lodge catalogs show they continued to make "English pots" just like it into the 1930s.
 
Doug,
Thank you so much for your reply. I appreciate your insight and knowledge. This has whetted my appetite for more cast iron lol! Now on to read about cleaning it up and seasoning.
 
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