Poppies on Porcelain: Ivory Porcelain by Sebring

Embossed flower border with green and red floral pattern

In addition to this small plate, the pattern that Replacements, Ltd. called “green and red floral pattern” is found on a square plate shape with fluted edges and a green border. The flowers appear to be poppies to me. Sebring did have identified poppy patterns, such as the Goldenrod Poppy, also called Golden Maize, but it is different from this one. Like most pottery factories, Sebring developed a variety of combinations of flowers with shapes, sometimes for special orders. It was also common to produce “blanks” which was a shape (such as the oval with embossed flower edge) and then add different patterns.

This small oval plate measures only 7 1/4 inches by 5 1/4 inches, so I think it might have been used as a bread and butter plate, or the base plate for a gravy boat. Sebring Pottery introduced the line of Ivory Porcelain in 1923 and it was produced in a variety of shapes and patterns. I have not located this particular combination in anything online, nor at replacements.com, nor historic newspapers–though plenty of other styles abound. I do find a large oval platter with the same embossed flower/bead scalloped border with roses encircling the center instead of the poppies. There is also a plate in this embossed style that has no painted flowers in the center and a small blue trim where this one appears to have had either gold or platinum–most of which has worn away. Ivory Porcelain was produced with both gold and platinum rims in several of their shapes and patterns.

Ivory Porcelain by Sebring. Reg. U.S. Pat Off Pat 2-24-1925

Ivory Porcelain was tinted with the ivory color, rather than just fired onto the white porcelain. This resulted in the ivory color being all the way through the dish, rather than like Platonite, only being fired onto the surface and the bottom or back of the dish remaining white. In 1923 when Ivory Porcelain was introduced, I found only two patterns/shapes identified in the newspapers of the time. However, the embossed floral rim with different floral sprays are found on 3 patterns in Replacements, Ltd., and the green and red floral pattern is found on one different shape style.

Sebring Pottery was opened in 1887 by Frank Sebring in East Liverpool, Ohio. In 1900, the company made plans to relocate to Sebring, Ohio. The news reported in December 1900 that

The Sebring Pottery company have placed on top of their building an elegant metallic sign. When completed it will be lighted up with electricity. As a sign board it is without equal in this city.

The News of Sebring. (Dec. 8, 1900). The Evening Review, p. 3

In 1923, Sebring’s son, Charles L., then president of the company, introduced the Ivory Porcelain line. I found this small plate at some store in Texas, with no recollection of where I bought it. I just liked the colors and the shape and the embossed edge. I set the Old Ivory Fiesta creamer on top of it one day merely as a matter of convenience, and liked how it looked together.

Old Ivory Fiesta creamer on Sebring’s Ivory Porcelain

I might need to hang on to the Fiesta creamer for a while, and just duly note to whoever wants it that I will pass it along once I am done with it sitting on my Ivory Porcelain plate.