This lovely Art Deco oblong tray, which has a porcelain white body and was imported from Germany for the China-painting movement. It measures 1.5" high by 11" long by 5.25" wide. The artist 'R. Gardner' chose a very dainty design for her tray with beautiful pink, yellow and blue blossom bouquets on each end, and a small spray of blossoms on opposing sides. As with many Art Deco China-Painted pieces, this one does not disappoint, it is laden with heavy gilt accents framing the design beautifully. The oblong tray or dish, like a candy dish, has open reticulation work on each end, and is glazed in a creamy white, with blue on its interior ground, with black stitch-like line or notched accents, framing the gilt trim at the rim, pretty, pretty. The artist signature is noted on the base, along with ink stamp marks identifying its German manufacturer. The China Painting trade in the United States, whose history is detailed following this description, highlights a fascinating history for American women. This lovely bauble is in original condition, no apologies.
American 'China Painting' began around the time of the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia in 1876. After the Civil War, women became interested in the leisure arts and china painting was a natural for producing objects used in decorating the home. China painting became a movement, and a pursuit for many women, which endured into the Arts and Crafts and Art Deco periods, lasting well into the 1940s. Companies produced blank porcelain and china ware and groups began to emerge, some more formal than others, teaching women how to paint, providing instructions, publishing patterns, each one prettier than the next. This china painting genre of artists provided objects of beauty in the form of vases, bowls, flower pots, dresser sets and more. Generations later, collectors consider many of these objects to be true works of art.  Many are signed and dated by the artists, yet their identities will never truly be known. Some vessels are simply inscribed as gifts, and some have no identifying marks at all. More than one-hundred years later, these wonderful objects have an enduring appeal. They tell a story of a time of hope and prosperity for women and America. If you encounter one, pick it up, perhaps, it will speak to you!