Platter

It is not only patients that Tadeusz Orzeszko saved while working in the Auschwitz hospital. After the war, also hospital ward employees tried to find him and show their gratitude for saving his life. They included Max Eisen, a Hungarian Jew employed in Tadeusz’s ward, and Stanisław Zelle, a Polish medical assistant of Jewish origin.

The fifth of the seven platters that Janina 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 of the vessel are slightly pointed, both have a handle in the form of an oblong opening at the pointed end.

The brown colour of the bottom gets brightened in the central part, where a representation of a loving couple is depicted. The woman is wearing a blue dress, white skirt, and a white blouse. She is sitting on the grass, leaning on her right hand, lifting her left hand towards her lover. The man, slightly leaning towards his partner, presses his left hand to his chest. He is wearing light-blue pants, a light-pink tailcoat, a white shirt, white stockings, and black shoes. 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