Austria Porcelain Cabinet Portrait Plate

A most unusual portrait plate, this hand painted porcelain dish was manufactured by Victoria Porcelain in Carlsbad, Austria. Picturing the profile of a turbaned man from the Middle East, the cabinet plate has scalloped edges and was done in tones of brown and ochre. It's signed by the artist on the bottom rim (Goriano?) and bears the green printed mark on the reverse that dates this piece to the years 1904 to 1918 (Carlsbad became part of Czechoslovakia in 1918 and subsequent marks reflect that).

Victoria Porcelain was founded in 1883 by members of the Lazarus and Rosenfeld families of Austria, who also founded Empire Porcelain Company in Staffordshire, England. They sold the factory to Franz Schmidt and it was renamed Porzellanfabrik Victoria Schmidt & Co., commonly referred to as Victoria Porcelain.

The plate measures 9 3/4 inches in diameter and is 1 1/8 inches high. It weighs 1 pound and is in excellent condition, with a chip on the foot rim that was probably done in the kiln the only flaw. There are no other chips, no cracks and no wear to the paint. This dished plate was produced during the era of the Arts and Crafts Movement and a heightened interest in the Middle East, since oil was discovered in Iran in 1901. It looks great on an easel, propped on a shelf or hung on the wall.

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