Antique Hand Painted German WALLENDORF Porcelain Dish

This lovely petite dish was made sometime in the years 1787 to 1833 by Wallendorf Porcelain (Wallendorfer Porzellan), founded in 1764 in Thuringia, Germany. The company achieved a superb reputation for their snow white, hard paste porcelain and beautiful hand painting. It stayed in the hands of the founding family until 1833, when it was sold to Hutschenreuther.

The hand painted design on this dish depicts a monument draped with flowers and bearing the inscription on the base " Lass mich." We've translated this German phrase to 'leave me,' which leads us to believe it's a grave memorial. Two nosegays of flowers and gilt trim with tassels decorate the raised, ribbed rim.

The underside bears the underglaze cobalt blue letter W; the mark is shown on a website called "The Old Stuff--Porcelain and Pottery Marks"; their caption under the mark is "Wallendorf W mark 1787 - 1833." There is also an old paper label on the bottom, probably identifying the piece in a previous owner's collection, although the writing, if there was any, has completely faded away.

The dish measures 5 inches in diameter and stands 1 inch high. The porcelain has a few tiny spots of iron residue that have worked their way to the surface over the centuries and there is some slight wear to the paint on the column, but overall the dish is in excellent condition--no chips, cracks, stains or repairs. Pieces like this one, given as gifts, were treasured and spent their lives protected in vitrines and cabinets.

PYH 4533