High Victorian Porcelain

One of Minton's most popular patterns is named "Porcelain Ball” which features a large diameter plate bordered by a gold and white floral decoratio...

Meissen Porcelain plate/tray with hand painted floral motives and rich gold decor.

This beautiful and whimsical retired design by Lladro artist Jose Puche is called "The Debutante" and is a pastel dream! With purple hair and snow white sk...

An elegant set of twelve dinner or presentation plates by the fine porcelain firm of Minton's of England. Custom ordered through the prestigious retailer of William Plummer, New York...

This is an extremely rare Belleek cabaret set for two, or "tête-à-tête", made in the Erne series brought out in the 1890s. The items carry the 2nd Black Mark, used between 1891 and 1926. The set consists of a teapot, a milk jug, a sugar bowl, two teacups and saucers, and a large matching tray. This set is very fine and with its restrained cream-white colour it would make a wonderful wedding gift! If you ever thought Belleek fine china looks, sounds and feels unique, you are right. There is a back story to this extraordinarily fine Irish eggshell porcelain, which has an unusually high amount of "frit" and therefore is thinner and finer than any other china. Pottery in Belleek (in the now Northern-Irish area of Fermanagh) had started in 1849 with John Caldwell Bloomfield, who was a wealthy land owner. During the Irish famine he realised that unless he would find a way for his tenants to make a profit off the land, they would starve. Agriculture had become impossible due to the agricultural diseases. This caused millions to starve and more millions to leave. As an amateur mineralogist, John Caldwell Bloomfield realised that his land had exactly the right mineral deposits to be used as clay for porcelain. He involved several investors and scientists and after many years of research, trial, error, the building of a railway line to import coal from England, and building a factory, the Belleek pottery resulted, employing the local people and soon producing the finest china made with clay from the Belleek area. What had started as a way to fend off famine among the local tenants had became a story of incredible success by the 1880s as Queen Victoria fell in love with the fine white china and the many homely, slightly bizarre but nature-loving designs; this was different from English tradition, yet it was very much to the taste of the British who had developed a real love for home-made fine china since it was introduced in the late 18th Century. Belleek not only brought out many tea services, but started a new tradition of intricately woven porcelain baskets. Soon the English nobility started to place big orders and the pottery is still flourishing today and selling its wares the world over, while in England most potteries have long disappeared. Belleek made many cabaret services, often called breakfast services or "tête-à-tête" services; these were used to carry breakfast tea up to the bedroom. Queen Victoria bought one in the Echinus style during a visit to the factory in the 1860s, and ever since Belleek's cabaret services have been in great demand. Nowadays there are very few of these left and it is rare to find a full service like this. The Erne series was named after the river right besides the Belleek factory. This river forms the border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, with the factory on the Northern Irish end of the bridge at Belleek. The pattern seems to be a play on the baskets and nets of the fishermen who once fished the abundant trout and salmon on the river Erne and the lake that belongs to it. The items carry the second Black Mark, which was used between 1891 and 1926, however the very fine quality of the porcelain indicates that most pieces of the set are more likely to be from the 1890s than from the 20th Century. You will see that the shade of cob lustre is different on each item; this is normal for Belleek tea sets...

Meissen Rare Item: Candlestick with Gardener Figurines Manufactory: Meissen Hallmarked: Blue Meissen Sword Mark with Pommels on Hilts Model Number R 185 Former's Number 13 Painter's Number 83 FIRST QUALITY Dating: made circa 1870 Material: porcelain, glossy finish, multicolored painted Technique: handmade porcelain Style: Rococo (made third quarter of 19th century) DETAILED DESCRIPTION: MEISSEN FINEST FIGURINES' GROUP HAVING FUNCTION OF CANDLESTICK (= THIS MEISSEN ITEM IS EXTREMELY RARE !). -- the Children / Gardener Figurines - boy and girl clad in bucolic Rococo garments - gather around a table which seems to grow out from Rocaille base: A pot / lidded jar has been put on table against which the boy is leaning, being busy with smoking a pipe ... A lovely girl with yellow hat is watching him, holding a jug and balancing a hoe on her left shoulder (a hoe is a tool used for gardening). There are a romantic ruin as well as a small leafy tree visible behind the figurines, looking like a theatre backdrop...

This set of 12 Minton dinner plates exhibits the beauty and quality of Minton's top of the line offerings. The acid etched gold border frames the three neoclassical reserves of raised paste gold and beading alternating with three blue reserves hand-painted with overflowing baskets of flowers in the French enamel technique. Most often this decorative technique is misnamed as Pate sur Pate but this technique is honestly French enamel. One reserve on each plate is signed by the artist Robert Marshall...

Porcelain figure. Damaged right side. Dimensions: height: 21 cm, width: 12.5 cm.  

Finely cast armorial of the Royal Coat of Arms after Queen Victoria ascended to the thrown, cold painted with gilt and silver gilding. Very fine detailing showing the gold lion and s...

Originally this pair of elegant oval-shaped Paris porcelain pierced baskets (corbeilles) were used in a table setting to hold fruit. Their timeless beauty will enhance any room. Th...

This exquisite and beautifully made set of Eight Hand-Painted Minton Porcelain Plates Depicting Fish signed A. Holland originate from England, Circa 1900. The border of each plate f...

Two beautiful Lobster plates made of Glass. A nice addition to your Table. Found at an estate sale in Stockholm, Sweden.