Lenox Ivory Porcelain Basketweave Oval Serving Dishes, Set of 2

Two oval serving dishes by Lenox translate the structure of a woven basket into ivory porcelain. Across the center of each dish, a finely molded relief follows the over-and-under pattern of interlaced fibers. At the rim, the solid surface opens into a row of narrow slots, echoing the spaces between the strands of a basket. The contrast is clearest in side light, when the glaze catches on the raised weave and the openwork casts small shadows on the table.

The design brings the familiar form of a bread basket into the vocabulary of fine American tableware. Basketry supplies both the texture of the serving surface and the open construction of the border. The warm ivory glaze ties the two together, allowing the shape and relief to do most of the decorative work.

Lenox grew out of the Ceramic Art Company, founded in Trenton, New Jersey, in 1889 by Walter Scott Lenox and Jonathan Coxon Sr. The workshop’s early production centered on art porcelain, and ivory china became a signature of the firm, which adopted the Lenox name in 1906. In 1918, Lenox made the official White House dinner service for Woodrow Wilson, the first such service produced by an American china manufacturer. These dishes show another side of that tradition, using the company’s characteristic ivory porcelain for a serving form drawn from everyday domestic life.

Together, the two ovals give the repeated pattern enough presence to set the tone for a table. Use them side by side for bread and cheese, or place one at either end of a long table so the openwork reappears across the setting. For a Lenox collection, they offer a study in how much the maker could do with a single glaze, a molded surface, and a pierced edge.

Dimensions:
W 12.2 in × D 9 in × H 1 in