Haviland & Co. Limoges Hand Painted Plate with Swallows Martin Birds Plum Tree

An interesting nature scene with flying swallows or martins zooming through the blue sky over spring plum flowers, which is a common depiction of spring in Asian and heavily copied in Victorian era. The plate is 7 1/2 inches across with smoothly upward rim that can be used for salad, dessert, luncheon or just sit on your cabinet for people to admire. It carries the "H & Co. over L", mark on the back that dates to 1876-1889. There are no signature or any company's decorator stamp, but still a beautiful and pleasing piece of art.

An American, David Haviland, was an importer of French and English porcelains during the early to mid-1800's. In 1849 he moved his family to Limoges, France, to begin his own porcelain manufacturing and decorating factory and as a result, Haviland China, was born. Upon his death in 1879, his two sons split the company. Charles formed Haviland & Co., while Theodore formed Theodore Haviland. This fabulous plate is from the Charles Haviland Company.