Few things are more disheartening than to see a lovely porcelain sculpture emerge from its shipping or ‘moving’ box with breakage. Whether you are sending, receiving, or simply moving such an item from one residence to another, there is plenty of how-to packing information on the internet. The problem is that some of it is…
Category: Antique & Vintage Porcelain
An Unusual Antique Royal Vienna Cabinet Plate
Because the overwhelming majority of Royal Vienna cabinet plates are human portraits of one sort or another, I was surprised and delighted to discover this charming ‘cats’ plate on Pinterest. It was retailed by Le Palais Royale in Havana which dates it to the late 1800s or very early 1900s. No size was…
Antique Royal Vienna Portrait Vases
The final category of Royal Vienna portrait items is also the largest in terms of item size; unlike the plaques and cabinet plates, some of the vases could take up considerable display space! Starting this overview is just such a piece, standing 27″ high. Unsigned and with marks not cited yet in excellent…
Antique Royal Vienna Porcelain Cabinet Plates
Another genre of Royal Vienna porcelain dating from the turn of the century is that of decorative plates, often called ‘cabinet plates’. The term refers to the fact that the plates of this type were intended purely as decorative items – literally, displayed in a cabinet – rather than coming into contact with food. (see…
Antique Royal Vienna Portrait Plaques
Merriam-Webster defines ‘serendipity’ as “luck that takes the form of finding valuable or pleasant things that are not looked for” and that certainly describes my accidental discovery of Royal Vienna portraiture in the early 2000s. I had gone to the Manhattan Art & Antiques Center one day in search of something entirely different, and….but before…
Antique Paul Duboy Porcelain Busts and Figures
Google search results often serve up unexpected things – for good or ill – and I had just such an occurrence earlier this year while looking for something completely unrelated. It was a porcelain bust of an aristocratic lady, identified only as being by “Paul Duboy.” As often happens, one search leads to another and…
The Kestrel in Porcelain
The kestrel has always ranked high on my list of favorite birds and ties with the Eastern Screech owl for my favorite small raptor. The word “kestrel” is thought to originally derive from the French crécelle meaning something that makes a rapid, rattling noise. The kestrel’s call is a very rapid high-pitched klee-klee-klee or killy-killy-killy.…
The Franklin Mint Cybis Cat (and Egg)
It’s fairly common when doing a online-venue search for Cybis to see results for ‘Franklin Mint Cybis cat’, which is a grey-and-white blue-eyed cat with pink bows and highlights. Sometimes (but not always) the figurine still has its original “Crafted in Malaysia” paper sticker on the underside which of course is a clear indication that…
The Chatsworth Lady 