3 Franciscan Desert Rose Saucers

THREE FRANCISCAN DESERT ROSE SAUCERS - EARLY CALIFORNIA HAND DECORATED CIRCULAR MARK Three small Franciscan Desert Rose pieces in hand-painted California earthenware, approximately 6-1/2 inches in diameter, with the pattern's molded scalloped rim, raised relief rose-and-vine border, and a shallow molded center well. The well ring reads as a teacup seat, so these are catalogued as saucers, though they serve just as well as bread and butter or dessert plates. The painting on this group is crisp and well defined, with opened pink wild roses showing bright yellow centers dotted in dark brown, closed pink buds, glossy green leaves, and a thorny olive-brown vine wrapping the scalloped rim. The backstamp is the older dark circular California mark reading FRANCISCAN, MADE IN CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., HAND DECORATED, GLADDING, McBEAN & CO., OVEN-SAFE, rather than the later brown dotted oval, which places these in the earlier part of the pattern's production and makes them a match for the other early-marked Desert Rose lots in this sale. These coordinate with the Desert Rose dinner plates, saucers, cup and saucer sets, bowls, gravy boat, cookie jar, and bud vase offered elsewhere in this sale, so a bidder assembling a service can gather matching pieces across several lots. Sold as a lot of three pieces. Description Three (3) matching Franciscan Desert Rose saucers, glazed earthenware, round with a molded scalloped and lightly waved rim Each measures approximately 6-1/2 inches in diameter per the tape-measure photograph, with the hook set at the near rim and the far rim edge falling just past the 6 inch mark. Depth and well diameter were not measured with the tape, and bidders should verify all dimensions from the photographs Shallow molded center well with a raised circular ridge of the type used to seat a teacup foot; the well interior is plain cream white with soft concentric shaping rings Decoration is the standard Desert Rose border in raised relief under a glossy glaze: opened five-petal pink roses with elongated yellow centers dotted in dark brown, closed pink buds, green leaves in two tones, and a continuous thorny olive to yellow-brown vine following the scalloped rim Rim edges carry the pattern's olive to brown vine wash, which pools glossy and dark along the scalloped edge Undersides are glazed white with a recessed foot ring and small round stilt or kiln-support points, which are normal firing artifacts of manufacture rather than damage Backstamp, photographed close up, is a dark circular stamp reading arched FRANCISCAN across the top, then MADE IN / CALIFORNIA / U.S.A. inside the circle, then HAND DECORATED, then GLADDING, / McBEAN / & CO., with OVEN-SAFE curving across the bottom of the circle A faint hand-painted line of two or three small characters sits above the circular mark and is not legible in the photographs. These are decorator or line marks and are not readable with confidence Attribution note Desert Rose was introduced in 1941 by Gladding, McBean & Co. of Los Angeles, California, and became the best-selling pattern of American dinnerware ever produced, with California manufacture continuing into the mid-1980s. The mark sequence is documented by Replacements, Ltd. and the Gladding, McBean Franciscan archive: the earliest strikes are the dark circular stamps reading Franciscan, Made in California, U.S.A., Hand Decorated with the Gladding, McBean & Co. name, and collector references built on Lehner's encyclopedia of United States pottery marks generally assign that circular style to the late 1940s and early 1950s. The addition of an OVEN-SAFE line suggests these fall toward the later part of that circular-mark run rather than the earliest. The brown dotted oval bearing GLADDING, McBEAN & CO. follows the circular stamp; Gladding, McBean was absorbed into the Interpace Corporation in the early 1960s, so INTERPACE ring marks are later, roughly mid-1960s through the 1970s, and usually add a two-part number with OVEN SAFE, COLOR FAST. Later Wedgwood-era marks read England or Portugal rather than U.S.A. The mark reading, era assignment, pattern identification, piece designation as saucers, and all dimensions given here are offered as the consignor's photo-based opinion and are not guaranteed. Bid on the item as pictured. Condition Used vintage condition, sold as-is. All three pieces were photographed stacked, individually face up, in raking-light profile, and in close detail on the border, rim edge, center well, and backstamp. The glaze is bright and glossy, the cream ground is clean and even, and the painted decoration is strong and crisply defined with good color saturation. No chips, cracks, or breaks were observed in the photographs. Expect light overall use wear, including faint scuffing and cup-ring or utensil marks in the center wells. Scattered tan and dark specks and pinpoint iron flecks are visible in the glaze, typical of hand-decorated earthenware of this age. The olive-brown vine