{HISTORY}

Your next dinner party awaits! Hosted by the star of the show - Thelma Bassett - these antique dinner plates will set the stage for a memorable meal. 

We searched high and low for some insight or a snippet of a story lead regarding the name of this pattern but couldn't find one bit of info. Was Thelma Bassett a famous actress of the 1910s and 1920s? A worker at the Noritake pottery? A muse for one of the dish decorators? Any and all of these are possible, but it seems, for now at least, that Thelma is a veritable mystery woman, except when it comes to the dishes themselves.

Featuring hand-painted florals around the rim, this Thelma pattern is wonderfully simple when it comes to design. With its repetitive swag of roses trailing their way between sets of stylized flourishes, the colors of this pattern are bright yet neutral making it a great choice for mix-and-match table decor.

Raspberry, spring green, pale pink, dove grey, pale yellow, blueberry and black make up the complete color palette set against bright white porcelain that has been rimmed and striped in gold. 

Pretty for year-round decorating thanks to their bright yet neutral palette, your Thelma plates will effortlessly glide from season to season looking just as festive among the garden flowers at an outdoor summer soiree as they will dotting the champagne-laden tabletop on New Year's Eve. That's the Noritake way, afterall. They have been a part of delightful dining experiences for over a century. 

It's always very fun to trace the history of vintage and antique Noritake because their backstamps and pottery marks have changed so much over the course of two centuries as the company evolved into a worldwide brand. These plates feature the laurel wreath mark with the M in the middle which stands for the Morimura Brothers who originally started the pottery in 1889. Back then, it was simply known as Nippon - the name of the region where the dishes were made. 

Since those early days, artisans for Nippon (and then Noritake) have always focused on fine craftsmanship, gorgeous color arrangements, and exquisite designs. That attention to detail and level of commitment led Noritake to become one of the most celebrated and sought-after dishware brands in the world, and are still to this day, internationally recognized for quality and luxury. 

{SPECIAL FEATURES}

- Matching set of eight dinner plates

- Stamped on back with maker's mark and pattern name

{CONDITION}

In lovely antique condition, these plates contain no chips, cracks, spots, or stains. The color on one plate is ever-so-slightly faded, still very colorful just slightly not as bright as the others. The gold stripe around the rim is wearing lightly in some areas and two of the plates contain small brown dots (the size of a pencil point) on the front side. Both of these dots are near the shoulder area (please see photos) and are not flaws but natural mineral marks found in porcelain clay. On the backside of two plates, there are two tiny chips (less than 1/8"th of an inch in length) that are located on the foot ring. Please see photos. 

{SIZE}

Each plate measures 10"inches in diameter and weighs 1.4 lbs.  

{FOR THE LOVE OF THELMA}

Find more antique pieces in the Thelma pattern in the shop here.