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Text By Ellen Gardner
Sonja Willman, a popular St. Louis interior designer,
began collecting tole trays and other painted tin items about 30 years ago.
“They’ve always appealed to me, maybe because they fit in so well with my
European Country design aesthetic,” she says. “I really enjoy the varied subject
matter, the texture of the hand painting, and the different shapes.”
She doesn’t sell a lot of trays in her shop. “They’re
so difficult to find,” she says. “But I often have clients who want to
incorporate trays they already own into their design schemes. Others have been
inspired to start their own collections when they see the trays in my home.”
Sonja loves helping her clients come up with display
ideas. “Because of their rich colors and interesting patterns, tole trays can
look wonderful either on a wall or on top of a buffet or sideboard, which is
where many were kept when not being used to serve tea in the 1700s and
1800s.”
(a) Floral motifs and gold-trimmed borders are typical of
antique tole trays from the 18th and 19th centuries and those made in the 1900s,
like the ones shown here.
In the 1700s and 1800s, skilled painters quickly
embellished borders, (b) and (c), or covered entire pieces, (d) and (e)
using the tole technique of loading a paintbrush with two or three colors
at once, creating a leaf or flower petal with highlights and shadows in a single
brush stroke.
Tole Calls page
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