Dinner plate from the Salamina Service
Designer
Rockwell Kent
(American, 1882 - 1971)
Manufacturer
Vernon Kilns
(1931 - 1958)
Dateca. 1939
MediumGlazed earthenware
DimensionsOverall: 9 1/2 inches (24.13 cm)
Credit LineGift of Catherine L. Futter in honor of Sarah F. Rowland
Object number2013.34.1
MarkingsStamped on reverse with:
Salamina
Designed by
Rockwell Kent
Vernon Kilns
Made in U.S.A.
On View
Not on viewCollections
DescriptionCircular ceramic plate with transfer-printed design of young woman kneeling in a mountainous and rocky landscape, facing to her right. In her proper right hand is a bouquet of flowers; her left hand is open. Two birds fly around her. She is wearing a blue shirt with a yellow sash and a pair of vertically-striped shorts; her hair is pulled back in a low bun tied with a yellow flower. The rim encircled with a band of pale blue.Gallery LabelStories have decorated ceramics used for dining since ancient times. In 1939, the American painter and printmaker Rockwell Kent adapted woodcuts from his memoir of visits to Greenland to decorate a dinner service. Produced by Vernon Kilns of California, these vividly-colored and graphically bold designs convey the beauty of the Arctic landscape. The heroine of the book and the central figure of the service is Salamina, Kent's Inuit housekeeper (kifak). Along with her daughter, she shared Kent's small hut for the year he lived in a small Greenland fishing village.
Copyright© Plattsburgh State Art Museum, Rockwell Kent Gallery and Collection
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