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Fiesta is a line of ceramic Art Deco dinnerware glazed in differing solid colors manufactured and marketed by the Homer Laughlin China Company of Newell, West Virginia.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 publisher = Smithsonian Institution Press )〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】 publisher = The New York Times, Kelly Alexander, November 30, 2002 )〕 The original shapes, glazes and concept of combining various colors were designed by the company's art director Frederick Hurten Rhead in the 1930s.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 publisher = The Collector's Encyclopedia of Homer Laughlin China, Joanne Jasper at Missingpiece.com )〕 The dinnerware was introduced for retail sales to great success in 1936.〔 Homer Laughlin withdrew Fiesta from production in 1973 in response to declining sales before reintroducing the line in 1986. Some of the original shapes were redesigned and other new shapes were designed as part of the 1986 reintroduction by Jonathan O. Parry, who became the company art director in 1984.〔 As a line of open-stock dinnerware, Fiesta allows buyers to select by the piece, rather than requiring the purchase of entire sets. Notably, buyers can mix and match from the color range. According to David Conley, the company's director of retail sales and marketing, Fiesta's current colors derive from home decor and fashion trends.〔 According to the Smithsonian Institution Press, Fiesta's appeal lies in its bright colors, modern design, and affordability.〔 It has been found that past glazes have been radioactive or contained lead glazes, but these have been discontinued. The name of this line of dinnerware has always been simply ''Fiesta'', despite being informally referred to by customers as ''Fiesta Ware''. ==Fiesta's popularity and marketing== Fiesta was introduced at the annual Pottery and Glass Exhibit held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in January 1936. It was not the first solid color dinnerware in the US; smaller companies, especially Bauer Pottery in California, had been producing dinnerware, vases, and garden pottery, in solid color glazes for the better part of a decade by the time Fiesta was introduced to the market. But, Fiesta was the first widely mass-promoted and marketed solid-color dinnerware in the United States. When it was introduced, the decoration of dinnerware and kitchenware ceramics was still inspired by the Victorian era, based on full, predetermined sets of dinnerware, all decorated with the same decal designs. With its solid color glazes and mix-and-match concept, Fiesta represented something radically new to the general public. The forms and surfaces expressed an Art Deco influence. At introduction, the Fiesta line of dinnerware comprised some 37 different pieces, including such occasional pieces as candle holders in two designs, a bud vase, and an ash tray. A set of seven nested mixing bowls ranged in size, from the smallest at five inches in diameter up to a nearly twelve-inch diameter.〔 The company sold basic table service sets for four, six and eight persons, made up of the usual dinner plate, salad plate, soup bowl, and cup and saucer. But, the promotion and presentation of Fiesta from the start was as a line of open-stock items from which the individual purchaser could choose to combine serving and place pieces by personal preference and need. As an early Homer Laughlin Company brochure stated:
The Homer Laughlin Company quickly added several additional items to the line. During this period some items were modified, and one or two of the most unusual items were eliminated completely, such as the covered onion soup bowl, and the mixing bowl covers. In the years up to 1940, the line was expanded by the production of more new items. At its most numerous, the Fiesta line comprised approximately 64 different items, including Flower Vases in three sizes, Divided Plates, Water Tumblers, Carafes, Teapots in two sizes, Five Part Relish Trays, and large Chop Plates in fifteen-inch and thirteen-inch diameters. In addition, it offered several unique promotional items for one dollar each, available only in a predetermined glaze color. With World War II and the need for manufacturers to focus on production for that effort, non-war related production and public demand declined. Beginning in 1942, the Fiesta line of items began to be reduced. Over the next four years, the more unusual serving pieces were being discontinued, and by 1946, the line's variety of items had been reduced by nearly one third. Overall sales of the more typical place-setting pieces of Fiesta remained strong and reportedly peaked around 1948. The popularity of Fiesta was due to its bright colors, durable construction, stylized art deco shapes and designs, and its promotion through mass marketing. From its first introduction in 1936 and for over a decade, Fiesta products were a widespread fad. The dinnerware became something of a status symbol for late 1930s and pre-war 1940s middle-class households. Today, vintage Fiesta trades briskly on auction websites and at other antique/vintage product sales venues. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Fiesta (dinnerware)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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