Vintage Arzberg Bavaria Porcelain Niagara Falls Cake Plate with Bird and Floral Design circa 1920s-1930s

{HISTORY}

When it comes to souvenir dishware, you might not find a more delicate and colorful example than this one. Made of porcelain in Arzberg, Bavaria between the 1920s-1930s, it features Prospect Point, New York's famous viewing spot at Niagara Falls along with blooming branches and a colorful bird. 

Scalloped around the edge and finished with a soft pearl-like glaze, this cake plate was most likely a travel souvenir commemorating a wedding or honeymoon. Combining both the beauty of the Falls and the intricacy of vintage transferware designs, it's an unusual combination of color, form and aesthetic. 

The image of Prospect Point may have been interpreted from a photograph by William Henry Jackson (1843-1942) taken at Niagara Falls around 1900. The bird and blooms, although not a frequently found design, has been seen on a few other vintage pieces of German dishware, including lustreware. It's a unique arrangement on this dish because in certain light or when the dish is held at certain angles you can see the outline of the transferware. Normally, the transferware outline would dissolve and fade away into the background during the final firing of the dish, but in this case, perhaps because of the pealized glaze, it can still be seen. 

Regardless of this flaw, this is still a very beautiful cake plate with an avant-garde aesthetic. Colors include tomato red, magenta, lemon yellow, tangerine, blueberry, mint green, peach, black, sage, sky blue, chocolate, and pale pink. 

{SPECIAL FEATURES}

• Unique design
• Pearlized glaze
• Stamped on back with maker's mark

{CONDITION}

In lovely vintage condition, this plate contains no chips or cracks. Please see note above regarding the transferware application.

{SIZE}

Measures 10.75" inches (handle to handle) x 10" inches and weighs 1.5 lbs.