I'm such a portrait miniature addict, I'm thrilled to now own this set of 6 rare and incredible Dresden/Rosenthal hand painted/decorated raised gold enamel plates. There are 30 portraits, all different. The 6 plates are pristine, date to Art Nouveau or slightly later, and are in the Royal Vienna style. They're 10" diameter. I'm relatively certain they're the work of Richard Wehsner, Dresden. The plates I'm finding of his have the same handwritten portrait IDs on the back and same quality (a single plate offered now online at $1900). The under mark is Rosenthal (from 1915 to 1933) overpainted and blue underglaze mark for Dresden. Bohemian porcelain at its finest and in finest museum quality and condition. I had initially thought Richard Krumm, but expert advice ups the importance a bit to artist Richard Wehsner as decorator. Both artists recognized as top in the era, and are museum pieces. Usually you'll see or fine only a single collector's plate, priced by single plate, which are less valuable than the set of 6 from the same commissioned set. Each portrait is that of an 18th century historical figure, and the name of each is noted on the back of each plate. Once in a while you find a single plate of this type and quality, but just never 6 of a set like this. RARE! Please do not ask if I will break up the set. I won't.
"The name Wehsener and handpainted procelain have become a concept well known far beyond Dresden. In 1914, Werner Wehsener's grandfather, Richard Wehsener, opened his studio store in Dresden's famous Prager Strasse, the most central world renowned shopping street in the city. During the night of Feb 13, 1945 when Dresden was wiped out by fire bombs, the Prager Strasse disappeared. The only famous name Prager Strasse company that survived to this day is Wehsener's Porcelain firm." (RW history website)
Excellent condition throughout, age and type considered. I admit I'm slightly blinded by the opulence and all those portraits, but I can not find any flaws to note. There is no crazing, no chip, nip, hairline, crack, no restorations, and each painting is complete and just stunning, as is all that decadent raised gold enamel work. Strictly cabinet plates, there are, of course, no utensil marks on any of the 6. It's hard to imagine how much time went into each of these 6 plates. I bought them in Florida, out of an unnamed but "important estate" of New Jersey. Belle Epoch grandeur, with the Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette historical population - as noted, 30 portrait miniatures, 5 on each plate. Stunning!
