KXRAMIC STUDIO 
79 
SUGGESTIONS FOR USE OF PLATE BORDERS 
M.M. Mason. 
THE designs for the plate borders are an outgrowth of a 
desire to express in an artistic way one's individual 
ownership, in the use of the monogram, and at the same time 
give a personal note to the service plate. The usual mono- 
gram or initial letter as used on tableware is anything but 
a thing of beauty, having a decided commercial flavor, be- 
ing most commonplace, ostentatious and impossible. 
In planning these designs the idea was to keep the dec- 
orative feature uppermost in the decoration of the plate, or, 
in other words, to subordinate the group of letters to the 
design as a whole ; allowing them to lend themselves only as 
a motif in the plan of an interesting light and dark pattern. 
We must keep in mind the fact that the intention must be to 
beautify the plate if anything is added to it, whatever the 
motif may be that is used. It matters not whether that 
motif be a letter, a group of letters, flower, bird, animal or 
anything else in the heavens above or the earth beneath, the 
principle is the same in every case. It is not necessary to 
obscure the letters beyond recognition, but this is to be pre- 
ferred to making them so obvious that they will stare one out 
of countenance. The first letter of the surname being the 
most important, that should of course play a leading part in 
the design. The unit formed may be used only once on the 
rim, being balanced by finely proportioned lines, or it may 
be repeated at regular intervals as often as desired ; three 
or four, five or seven times with good effect. 
The borders may be wide or narrow or as simple or 
elaborated as desired, but the fact must not be lost sight 
of that the letters are merely lending themselves to a dec- 
orative scheme. 
We only need to study the old manuscripts to see 
how beautifully letters were used to decorate a page, so 
why not a plate? In Arabic design and even in some of 
the Sicilian textiles of the 12th and 13th centuries as in 
many other early textiles, letters are frequently used in a 
most decorative way. Many instances of the play of 
lettering in design should be mentioned and anyone inter- 
ested in the subject need not look far to see many fine 
examples of such. 
The designs shown were in some instances carried out 
in gold alone, sometimes with color or enamel with or with- 
out an outline. A clear, rather bright blue enamel out- 
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