Platter

The Orzeszko family used the porcelain platter set only during special occasions, such as name-day parties. Danuta Orzeszko-Bałuk remembers that, when the dishes were taken out of the cupboard, their history was always recalled: “This service stood at my parents’ place for years, constantly displayed as a memento of the Rubinek family. My mother liked them very much. And now, they should be put at your museum. This is a symbol. The people are gone and the sherds remained. Just a few plates left. They survived the war and the hecatomb. A trace from Wałowa Street, from a private household of a young Jewish couple”.

The platters were probably a wedding gift for the young spouses. Janina Orzeszko was invited to the Rubinek couple’s wedding, she joked that it was her who had matched them. During one of the parties at the Orzeszkos’, the serving platter was accidentally chipped, and the right handle on the outer edge of the dish was damaged. Janina abraded the loss with the burr drill, she put the platters away and never used them again.

The first (the largest) of the seven platters that Janinia Orzeszko received as a token of gratitude for safekeeping the property of the Jewish Rubinek family during the occupation. The platter is shallow, oval-shaped, made of porcelain. The foot of the platter is distinct, its lip opens up slightly. The opposite edges are slightly pointed in shape; on one of the pointed ends (on the left) there is a small handle in the form of an oblong hole. The brown colour of the bottom gets brightened in the central part, where we can see the representation of a couple: he and she dressed in pastel colours, with fans in their hands, against the background of a tree. The woman (on the right) is captured seated; she has a pink and blue dress and fair, chignoned hair. The man – wearing a light-pink tailcoat, beige pants, white stockings, and black shoes – stands next to her, bending his right leg. In his right hand, he holds a fan, and has lowered his left hand freely along the body. The brown bottom with the genre scene is separated from the edge by a golden ornament, behind which there is a cobalt stripe, also decorated with a gold-coloured ornament. Next, a light yellow stripe is painted, decorated with a coloured floral ornament. The edges of the platter – including the handles – are painted gold.

MF