Royal Vienna hand painted porcelain plate of a brown haired beauty, cobalt blue and gilded border, signed Wagner, Vienna, Austria, circa 1880. Lev Tov Antiques
One of the most prized kinds of antique porcelain, Royal Vienna plates originated in the 18th century when “two workers from the Meissen factory in Germany took the “recipe” for Chinese hard paste porcelain with them when they headed for Vienna in the early 1700s.” The pair shared the secret with porcelain manufacturer, Claude Innocentius Du Paquier, who began using the recipe in 1717 to make plates comparable to the German standard.
Jeweled and opalescent Royal Vienna porcelain hand painted plate, depicting a beauty, green border with gilding, signed Wagner, Vienna, Austria, circa 1880. Lev Tov Antiques
When Du Paquier sold the business to the royal family in 1744, the Royals began to mark the plates with a shield mark (commonly interpreted as a beehive mark), which has become the recognizable feature of Royal Vienna plates. The Imperial and Royal Porcelain Manufactory of Vienna became the most prominent porcelain manufacturer in the region and made beautiful hand-painted porcelain wares until 1864. Older “beehive” marked plates, such as the sumptuous plates here, are among the most valued in the antique plate industry.
