I've started collecting porcelain ponies. I've noticed the style pictured here often has four little teats on the dome, as shown. This looks just like a "G" pony. But I'm not sure. I have some well marked "G" pieces that lack these little teats.

Does anyone know the purpose of these teats? If I were to guess, I'd say four little holes were drilled in the top of the mold to let air pockets escape when the dry-process clay was forced in. Little raised bumps were all that remained when the insulator was released from the mold. But that's just a guess. Does anyone know?

While on the topic, does anyone know who made porcelain insulators with the G marking? Or what the G stands for? The few mud experts I've talked to say the G is of unknown manufacture.

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Answer, per Elton Gish (thanks!):

"Intention was for a firing rest, but it didn't work well with the small domed styles, so they returned to using the bottom firing rest but didn't change the mold. Dry process styles were pressed out in steel mold."