Royal Vienna Porcelain Duchess Of Devonshire Portrait Cabinet Plate Hand Painted

  
ROYAL VIENNA PORCELAIN DUCHESS OF DEVONSHIRE PORTRAIT CABINET PLATE HAND PAINTED. A gorgeous and fine Royal Vienna style portrait cabinet plate which is 100% hand painted.

The painting on this plate is a very well executed portrait of a lovely brown-haired young woman in 18. Century dress done by a very talented artist. She is dressed in a pink and white gown, wearing a large hat adorned with ostrich plumes and cocked to one side and holding a single pink rose in her hands. The cobalt blue border on this plate is edged with a heavy gold border and enhanced with white and gold enamel beads or dots and further accentuated by turquoise blue enamel jewels. The portrait featured on this plate is taken from a portion of one originally painted circa 1786 by the English painter Thomas Gainsborough.

The artist of the plate has taken certain liberties with the colors of the clothing from the original portrait. This particular portrait is of Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire. The quality and artistry of this plate rivals any of those Royal Vienna style plates artist signed Wagner with a beehive mark.

The plate is artist signed on the front just to the right of the subjects left arm and at the edge of the gold border. The signature is very dark on a very dark background and difficult to even see without a loupe see the last photo for a close-up of this. On the obverse the plate has a blue hand-painted crossed swords mark (probably an attempt to emulate a Meissen or Volskstedt mark) and gold rectangle (probably there to hide another mark); as well as hand-painted script in gold that reads: Devonshire and D. 51 (the decorating style or subject).

There are also faint impressed marks underglaze in the porcelain - the number 24 (probably the size of the plate in centimeters) and an HR mark that appears to be one for the C. Hutschenreuther firm of Hohenberg, Austria.

This mark is pictured as mark K on page 38 in the book Kovels New Dictionary of Marks: Pottery & Porcelain 1850 To the Present by Ralph & Terry Kovel Austria. Since the original Royal Vienna factory closed in 1864 dozens of firms produced their own versions of the decorating style originally produced by this factory in what the following book describes as the post-1864 private enterprise period. My source for this information is the book Goddens Guide To European Porcelain by Geoffrey Godden from Chapter 5 entitled Vienna and Vienna-styled Porcelains. I want to be clear that this piece is not an original Royal Vienna factory piece but is decorated in a style that is similar to the original Royal Vienna factory as described in the previous paragraphs.

Many people put great emphasis on the artists signature or the mark on the obverse of a piece of porcelain such as this. However, as experienced collectors of Royal Vienna style porcelain we have come to realize over the years that the marks on the bottom of a piece (such as the beehive mark) and the artist signature (like Wagner) do not define the piece. Instead, the style and quality of the decoration and the artistry of the portrait are what really matters. As reinforcement for our beliefs, according to the beautiful book Hand Painted Porcelain Plates: Nineteenth Century to the Present by Richard Rendall and Elise Abrams there were no less than sixteen Wagners actively painting china in Germany, Austria and Bohemia in the latter part of the nineteenth century and Attributions are impossible.

Regardless, a strikingly beautiful plate in excellent original condition! I do my best to describe all items as accurately as possible and to the best of my ability. Some of my photos may be somewhat lighter or darker than actual to better show detail or color. However, do not hesitate to contact me with any questions, comments, or with requests for additional pictures.

Our store has many unique and interesting items in several different categories from 35 years of our dealing and collecting antiques and collectables. It is in excellent to near mint condition.

Please look closely at the photos as they are an important part of my description of this item. There are no chips, flea bites, cracks, hairlines or repairs. The gold and the gold, white and turquoise beading are in near mint condition with only some very minor loss.

I see only some very minor wear to the gold trim around the rim. The plate rings like a bell when I tap it anywhere on the rim with my fingernail. I also examined the plate thoroughly under a black-light and found no evidence of any damage or repairs. The plate is really in exceptional condition for a 100+ year old piece of hand decorated porcelain.

Please keep in mind the photos may be blown up at least 8-10 times normal, so anything you see will look 8-10 times larger in the photos than it really is. Please note: if you see a dark spot in the photos it is from my camera and is not a mark on the piece. It will be either just to the right of center towards the bottom or slightly above center on the right side of the photo. About 9.5 (24.1 cm) in diameter at the rim and it sits about 1.125 (2.9 cm) off the table at the rim.

About 1 pound (452 grams). The item "ROYAL VIENNA PORCELAIN DUCHESS OF DEVONSHIRE PORTRAIT CABINET PLATE HAND PAINTED" is in sale since Thursday, October 4, 2018. This item is in the category "Pottery & Glass\Pottery & China\China & Dinnerware\Royal Vienna". The seller is "rvhound" and is located in Middletown, Ohio.

This item can be shipped worldwide.

• Object Type: Plate