Franciscan Desert Rose Oval Serving Platter

FRANCISCAN DESERT ROSE OVAL SERVING PLATTER - HAND-PAINTED CALIFORNIA EARTHENWARE A single oval serving platter in the Franciscan Desert Rose pattern, hand-painted California earthenware, measuring approximately 11-1/4 inches long by 8-1/2 inches across with shaped tab ends and a molded scalloped rim. The well is a smooth oval with a raised interior ring, and the rim carries the full Desert Rose border in raised relief: opened pink wild roses with bright golden-yellow centers dotted in dark brown, closed pink buds, large green leaves in two tones, and a thorny olive-brown vine following the scalloped edge. The painting on this piece is notably bright and crisp, with strong color in the roses and heavy relief in the leaves. The underside is glazed white with an oval foot ring and carries the brown dotted-oval Franciscan EARTHENWARE mark naming GLADDING, McBEAN & CO., plus a letter and a hand-applied number. This is the useful mid-size platter for the pattern, right for a roast, sliced meats, biscuits, sandwiches, deviled eggs, or a dessert presentation, and it also displays well on a plate rail or easel. It pairs directly with the Desert Rose dinner plates, saucers, cup and saucer sets, fruit bowls, serving and vegetable bowls, gravy boat, cookie jar, bud vase, and wine goblets offered elsewhere in this sale. Sold as one piece. Description One oval serving platter in the Franciscan Desert Rose pattern, glazed earthenware Oval with shaped tab or lug ends, a molded scalloped and waved rim, a smooth sunken well with a raised interior ring, and a low oval foot ring on the underside Measures approximately 11-1/4 inches long per the horizontal tape photograph and approximately 8-1/2 inches across the width per the vertical tape photograph. In both tape shots the hook end rests on the table off the edge of the platter rather than against it, so both figures should be read as close estimates rather than exact measurements. Rim depth and well depth were not measured with the tape, and bidders should verify all dimensions from the photographs Decoration is the full Desert Rose border in raised relief under a glossy glaze: opened five-petal pink roses with golden-yellow centers dotted in dark brown, closed pink buds, green leaves in light and dark tones, and a continuous thorny olive to brown vine following the scalloped rim, with a brown vine wash carried over the outer rim edge Well is plain cream white; the underside is glazed white throughout Underside shows small round stilt or kiln-support points, which are normal firing artifacts of manufacture rather than damage Backstamp, photographed close up and digitally enhanced, is the brown dotted oval reading GLADDING, McBEAN & CO. in the top ring, MADE IN U.S.A. curved along the bottom ring, with the copyright and registered symbols beneath Franciscan in script over EARTHENWARE, and the letter B struck below the bottom ring A hand-applied number is struck on the underside below the oval mark and reads approximately J 2 168. It is lightly and unevenly applied and remains only partly legible after enhancement, so it is given as a best reading rather than a certainty 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. Replacements, Ltd. and the Gladding, McBean Franciscan archive document the mark sequence: the earliest strikes are dark circular stamps reading Franciscan, Made in California, U.S.A., Hand Decorated with the Gladding, McBean & Co. name, generally placed in the 1940s into the 1950s. The brown dotted oval naming GLADDING, McBEAN & CO. in the top ring, as found on this platter, follows the circular stamp. Gladding, McBean was absorbed into the Interpace Corporation in the early 1960s, so INTERPACE ring marks are later, roughly the 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., so the MADE IN U.S.A. line confirms California manufacture. Lehner's encyclopedia of United States pottery marks is the usual reference for dating the earlier circular stamps. Single letters and hand-applied numbers struck near the mark are factory or decorator notations rather than dates, and Desert Rose was produced in several platter sizes over its long run, so the exact factory size designation for this piece is not stated. The mark reading, era assignment, pattern identification, form designation, 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. The platter was photographed face up from overhead, in close detail on the rose and leaf border from three angles, with the tape along both the length and the width, and on the underside with a close v