Peter Hunt’s Round Valentine Platter

Today’s Museum Monday treasure from the Museum of American Glass in WV is Peter Hunt’s round Valentine platter with a textured back and white and yellow screen-printed decoration of a horse inside a scalloped heart. We don’t know who produced this platter, but it is probably from the 1950s. Peter Hunt was a self-taught folk artist who parlayed his popularity in the 1930s through the 1950s by decorating many “found” objects in designs reminiscent of Pennsylvania Dutch and German folk art. This included furniture and other household objects and even old carousel horses. His signed pieces still command premium prices, though sadly before his death in the 1960s the vogue for folk art had fallen to the point that he died almost penniless, despite his artwork already having become part of many museum collections. Whether this platter was created for his own sales or licensed by an as-yet unknown glass manufacturer to be mass produced isn’t known. But it is readily available today in various size trays and platters, making for a nice Valentine’s Day offering.