Ornamental plate

The round plate is homogeneously concave, with a plain rim. There is a foot ring on the reverse. The front decoration is out-lined by deep contours, against which the glazed motifs slightly protrude. The middle has a rosette enclosed by eight hearts, in red and blue. Around the centre, there are four richly ornamented, stylized tulip stems springing from four hearts, painted in red and golden-green against the natural colour of the four semicircular fields. The tulip motifs are separated by hearts. Above the semicircles, red and golden green tulip heads appear with a row of leaves, against a black base. The line ornamentation of the rim is golden green. The dark, solemn colours, the iridescent and metallic glazes as well as the symmetrical, four-lobed arrangement give the plate an archaic appearance. Its designer tried to create a representative, Art Nouveau version of the "national decoration" of revival styles. In Façon book 12 of the Zsolnay factory there is a series of nine plates, signed by Henrik Darilek, a designer of the factory. The remark beside them was «Darilek mintái». This plate can be identified with No. 7350 design of the series.