Platter - "North Carolina Arms" c. 1936

Curator: This is a fascinating earthenware platter, circa 1936, entitled "North Carolina Arms." The central image is an engraving, surrounded by decorative floral motifs. What are your initial thoughts? Editor: It feels incredibly...staged. There's a deliberate attempt at classical grandeur, yet the figures feel strangely detached from their surroundings. Like characters awkwardly placed in a historical tableau vivant. Curator: It’s interesting you say that. These platters, particularly those depicting state arms, were often produced for commemorative purposes or to project a specific image. Think about the context—1930s America, the lingering effects of the Great Depression, the push for regional identity. Editor: Which makes the idealized, almost Greco-Roman figures all the more jarring. Who are they meant to represent? Are they supposed to embody the spirit of North Carolina? And that prison-like structure in the background—is that meant to evoke the state's history? The history of enslaved labor, perhaps? Curator: The interpretation certainly opens up those questions. While it adopts elements of Neoclassicism, imbuing the imagery with supposed virtues and strength, the inclusion of the 'prison-like structure’ is ambiguous. Given the history of incarceration and forced labor in the South, that cannot be easily ignored. The ships sailing toward the horizon may allude to trading dynamics which is itself a complex aspect. Editor: Exactly! The decorative floral border further complicates it. It feels almost… frivolous, juxtaposed against the potential weight of the central scene. It creates a distracting sense of surface-level pleasantries over a far more complicated history. Who exactly were the consumers for a platter like this, and what narratives were they hoping to project onto their dinner table? Curator: It prompts crucial questions about how historical narratives are curated, and how certain stories get foregrounded while others are erased or romanticized. It reminds us that visual culture serves many political and socio-economic purposes. Editor: Absolutely. It’s a potent reminder that even seemingly innocuous objects like these platters can serve as vessels for complex and often troubling narratives. The "North Carolina Arms" asks us to critically examine the relationship between identity, representation, and history itself. Curator: Indeed, and in doing so, opens space for acknowledging the problematic origins or overlooked actors behind supposedly grand achievements.