Roselane Pottery was founded in Pasadena, California, in 1938 by William and Georgia Fields. Like many small California potteries of the period, Roselane began on a modest scale and developed into a producer of decorative ceramics for the home. Its output included figurines, wall pockets, candleholders, serving pieces, and other giftware forms. The company was closer to the decorative pottery and giftware market than to the large California dinnerware manufacturers such as Bauer, Metlox, Vernon Kilns, or Franciscan.

One of Roselane’s best-known lines is Aqua Marine, generally dated to about 1945 to 1952. The line features serving and decorative pieces with stylized fish and sea-life designs. Pieces are most often seen with aqua, turquoise, or pink backgrounds, sometimes paired with darker exterior glazes. The decoration is graphic and simple, with fish forms painted or applied in a loose, modern style.

Aqua Marine appears on a range of pieces, including bowls, serving dishes, trays, pitchers, carafes, and salt and pepper shakers. Rather than a full dinnerware pattern, it was a coordinated group of table and entertaining pieces. This fits Roselane’s broader production, which included decorative and giftware items as well as serving wares.

The line also fits within the wider postwar interest in aquatic, tropical, and casual entertaining themes. Fish, shells, birds, bamboo, and island-inspired imagery appeared widely in American ceramics and giftware during the 1940s and 1950s. Roselane’s Aqua Marine pieces used simple forms, bright grounds, and stylized fish decoration rather than heavily modeled or highly detailed designs.

Roselane operated on a smaller scale than the better-known California pottery companies, and its lines are less widely documented. That can make exact production details difficult to confirm. Aqua Marine, however, is one of the company’s more recognizable lines. Individual pieces still appear in the collector market, especially serving bowls, divided dishes, shakers, pitchers, and decorative accessories.

The appeal of Aqua Marine is its combination of color, form, and subject. A turquoise bowl with fish decoration or a pink serving dish with a dark exterior has an immediate mid-century look. The pieces are useful, decorative, and closely tied to the informal table settings and entertaining pieces that became popular after World War II.

Roselane’s Aqua Marine line is a good example of the smaller-scale California pottery being made alongside the better-known dinnerware lines of the period. It reflects the same interest in color, casual dining, and decorative table accessories, but from a company better known for giftware than full table services. Today, Aqua Marine remains one of Roselane’s most distinctive lines and a strong example of postwar American decorative pottery.