Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-01-07
PR CELESS PLATES
MAKE OPPORTUNITIES FOR DIN.
NER CHAT.
Conversation Around the Festiy,
Board Comes at One Hundred
Dollars Per Cover
Written for The Evening Sta

Written for The Evening Star
The fancy for passing an exquisitely dec
GRATED plate for the admiration and appro-
val OF dinner guests has developed into an
established custom of having a choice china
plate at each guests place, the merits of
which form a subject of discussion before
the dinner Is served. These are known as
conversation plates, and in exclusive porce-
lain shops room is given over entirely to
their display. The prices of these plates
range from $500 to 81, 600 dozen. Their
decoration is the work of artists high in
their profession, and each of the myriad
colors requires separate firing to assure
the original tint and its durability.
In sets these plates show the same color
scheme, but each plate has its own picture,
not fnfrequently the miniature reproduction
OF some famous painting. Or, among the
newest Of these beautiful plates curious
and wonderful effects are produced on rims
and centers in the popular highly glazed
porcelain, of which turquoise blue is the
color In highest favor; accompanied always
by f1ligree or incrustations of gold Gold is
never failing factor in the decoration of
all conversation plates, and as the only
beauttf1er of complete china table services
1T Is decidedly in vogue in its simplest
thrcad-like designs
One very expensive set of plates shows a
center Of undulating turquoise blue porce-
idiii, With WHlte CHINA INNS partly covered
by wing designs done in fine gold and met
at each quarter of the circumference by a
tiny cameo head of one of the ancient gods
or goddesses, against a blue porcelain
background. Another set of plates has rims
OF turquoise blue porcelain surrounding
scenes Of Venice with their wonderful blue
skies or crimson sunsets
Designed for an heirloom are the mono
gram plates, showing the family crest or
initials raised In gold on the center of the
plate, encircled by rim done in dolphin
design in turquoise porcelain Another set
of monogram plates has rims of deep blue,
each showing miniature painting of one
of the English duchesses ladies famed
for her beauty.
An Artist Hostess.
A wealthy New York woman whose tall
ent for china painting has been developed
in Dresden, Germany, displayed recently at
one of her large dinners a set of plates of
her own decoration. The centers were
painted in shades of brown, exquisitely
blending from paiest mauye to suede to-
baccO brown, with sylvan scenes showing
dainty shepherds and shepherdesses The
plates were rather smaller than the regula-
ton conversation plates, and had slightly
rolling rims splashed with the darker tints
Of brown intercepted by fine gold lines in
scroll design
Even more beautiful is set of plates
owned by connoisseur in chinaware. The
rims show fine lace design in gold, while
the center of each plate is a work of rare
art. Graceful nymphs in floating draperies
drink at a well or catch butterflies or in
dulge in sports, and all are painted in the
most marvellous flesh tints.
In these same soft colorings, chubby lit
tie cupids in various groupings serve as a
decoration for the centers of less costly
set of plates.
Reproductions of Gainsborough's famous
heads of women beautify some of these
plates, while another design seems to be
entirely of gold with a circular center
showing decollete bust of beautiful wo-
man, surrounded by frame of tiny tur-
auoise. Plates are covered completely with
pomegranate blossoms in rich dahlia shades
or with dainty pink rosebuds outlined in
gold.