Hello Tom, I’m very glad that you chose Mearto for your online appraisal, Considering the photographs, overall pattern, mark and the painting quality, I concluded that this is an Entirely Hand Painted Royal Bonn Porcelain Vase made in Germany. Dating back to the 1895-1908 period. This special piece was hand painted by Josef Heisterkamp, a known employee of the Royal Bonn Porcelain factory. He painted pieces starting from 1895 and as far as we know continued till the company was sold to Villeroy and Bosch in 1920. He is known for his skills of drawing portraits and human figures in a very precise and realistic way onto the porcelain bodies. Woman portraits decorated and surroundered with flowers were a very famous type of decoration in the late 19th and early 20th century. Many high-end hand painted products of especially German companies followed this pattern. Your piece's mark is the Royal Bonn mark used between 1890-1920 period, the stamp was made a little carelessly so this gives us an idea about the piece's quality position within the brand. The serial numbers would also show the general quality classification of the piece. This was an average portrait piece made aiming at higher middle class of the time. At the time and till the late 1940's vases had a special place in the market as wedding gifts. We can see that your paternal great grandparents also benefited from this tradition during their lifetime. On the back of your piece we can detect a natural scene shows a water front and a forest, we can also observe a classical depiction of a small "Venus Temple". In classical Greek Mythology there is a specific myth known as the "Monuments of the Virgins" this was a legendary structure that Ancient Greek woman who wanted to marry would go and pray according to the myths. This correlation with marriage might be a symbol for a wedding gift and the piece might be intented that way during the production. The classical Greek inspiration also shows us that the Vienna ecole is still influential on European porcelain during this period. Generally in good condition with a small scratch on the portrait and a small chip on the lip. Entirely hand painted. Dimensions: 12.5 Inches High by 5 Inches Wide by 5 Inches Deep Condition: Generally in good condition with a small scratch on the portrait and a small chip on the lip. Provenance: Was a gift for the current owner's paternal great grandparent's wedding. 200-300$. Please don’t hesitate to reach us again for more online appraisals on your precious items, thank you for choosing Mearto.
