Eva Zeisel Norleans China

These are two pieces I recently acquired. I was surprised and very excited to discover this pattern on the Norleans China shapes or more accurately the Centennial shape. Eva designed the "Centennial" shape for United China and Glass (which was headquartered in New Orleans) in the late 1940s. This shape was introduced to celebrate the 100th anniversary of this importing and distributing company in 1950. It was made by the Meito factory/company in Japan and was one of the first Japanese china lines imported after the war. It is marked "Meito Norleans China" and below that the pattern name "Pecos" and "Made in Occupied Japan."

This is the first pattern I have found on the Norleans China line that is really modern. Most of the patterns applied to this shape were large florals popular around 1950 and also more small scale floral or other traditional patterns. They often feature fairly elaborate gilding. This pattern is so much fun and much more fitting for Eva's curvaceous and modern shapes!