Antique Late 19th Century Royal Vienna Cabinet Portrait Plate Beehive Shield Back Stamp Signed E Vettori

Description

A little history lesson first, so you can appreciate where this piece came from ...

Vienna porcelain is the product … more A little history lesson first, so you can appreciate where this piece came from ...

Vienna porcelain is the product of the Vienna Porcelain Manufactory (German: Kaiserlich privilegierte Porcellain Fabrique), a porcelain manufacturer in Alsergrund in Vienna, Austria. It was founded in 1718 and continued until 1864.

This is a beautiful antique Royal Vienna Porcelain cabinet portrait plate manufactured by the Vienna Porcelain Manufactory. It is signed by the artist, E. Vettori.

I don't know who the girl in the portrait is, but I think I would have really liked her. She has a mischievous, open-mouth smile that shows her teeth - unusual for portraits of that era. Her wavy hair is loosely piled on top of her head with some escaping tendrils framing the side of her face -- I envision it's her way of rebelling a little against the perfectly coiffed "Gibson Girl" style buns that proper ladies were expected to wear. She seems to have a disarming, innocent sensuality about her, but she is totally unaware of it.

Measures 9 3/4" in diameter. Back contains the shield/beehive ink stamp and no other markings. No chips, cracks, or evidence of unusual wear. The delicate gold accent design around the wide rim is in amazingly good condition, considering the age of this piece. There is a glaze pop on the girl's chin (a byproduct of manufacturing), but it is only visible when you angle the plate toward the light and look closely.

If you are a collector of Royal Vienna portrait plates, this one is in exceptionally fine condition for its age and would make a fine addition to any collection. less