One-of-a-kind, hand-painted toleware platter, “Autumnal Branch“. Artist CM Pickard, dated 1947. Measures 20 inches diameter.
The Antiquary's Story:
The term toleware comes from the French words “tôle peinte” and means “painted sheet metal”— these pieces are often hand painted, stenciled and gilded, set on a black background. The application is applied most often to tin, but in Scandinavian countries, we also see it on wood.
While toleware has a long history in Europe, here in the US, a the practice began in 18th century New England and with Dutch immigrants in Pennslyvania.
The art from had a resurgence in the 1960s, and in both 1979 and 2002, it was used as the subject for US Postal Service Stamp designs.