8 Orchid Conservatory Service Plates Painted and Signed E. Challinor for Pickard

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8 Orchid Conservatory Service Plates Painted and Signed E. Challinor for Pickard

Set of eight hand-painted orchid service plates, each … Read more 8 Orchid Conservatory Service Plates Painted and Signed E. Challinor for Pickard

Set of eight hand-painted orchid service plates, each painted and signed by Pickard studio artist E. Challinor, ca. 1925–1937. Suitable for table use or wall display.

A refined and unusually complete set of eight hand-painted service plates from Pickard Studios, each painted and signed by E. Challinor, dating to the 1920s–1930s. The plates form a cohesive orchid study series, each with a unique botanical composition rendered in layered enamel with exceptional attention to petal form, shading, and color transition.

The orchid varieties represented across the set include Cattleya, Laelia, Miltoniopsis (pansy orchid), and Oncidium (“dancing lady”) types—orchids closely associated with the orchid house culture of Palm Beach, Pasadena, Lake Forest, and Newport winter estates during the early 20th century. Challinor’s painterly handling of luminosity and botanical modeling reflects both artistic training and familiarity with greenhouse cultivation aesthetics.

Surrounding each painted medallion is a gilt scrolling Rococo border, transfer-applied and hand-finished in gold over a warm ivory ground. These plates were designed as presentation service plates and may be used at a table, layered as chargers, or installed as a wall-hung botanical study grouping.

E. Challinor belonged to the circle of Pickard studio painters authorized to sign their work—a distinction marking consistent artistic merit and identifiable style. Signed examples of his orchid subjects are sought after by collectors of American studio porcelain and by designers working with winter garden, conservatory, or Palm Beach interiors.

Dimensions: 10.5 in. diameter
Mark: Pickard shield backstamp (gold crest)
Condition: Excellent. No chips, cracks, repairs, or losses. Gold, bright and intact. See less