No, in this case not completely undecorated as the ‘Racine’ series was always sold factory-decorated.
Next to hobbyists (and studios) that purchased undecorated whiteware, there were many that used ready-decorated items, making use of what they had at hand. A ready-decorated item could have per coincidence been at hand when needed or cheaper than having to send for (or wait for) a blank one.
Also hold in mind that items with factory-flawed decorations (“seconds”) or user-damaged decorations were also re-decorated. And then we have the so-called “decorator marriages”, sets made up from items of different manufacturers (often left over from breakages) which were matched into a new “set” as that was far cheaper than buying a new one.
Always learning from you, Chris !! So when originally made this would have been a plain un-decorated piece ?? I know many mfrs sold un-decorated wares to studios who did the artwork/transfers ect !! Would that have been the situation here or would it have been caught during the china painting craze in the 70`s and 80`s ?? Your opinion !! Its really quite pretty and looks well done !!
The R.C. mark is that of [b]Philipp Rosenthal & Co.[/b] (predecessor of the [i]Rosenthal AG[/i]) from Selb-Erkersreuth; it was used between 1891 and 1907.
‘RACINE’ was the body name (designed by silent partner [i]Hans Pabst[/i] who named it after his wife). The body shape has an interesting history as it was produced by Hutschenreuther and Rosenthal alike due to their connections with Pabst (both were business opponents but Pabst had shares in both).
Funny enough, there is a well-known US company involved which later claimed the design to be theirs until they were forced to revert that stance when they heard of the substantial evidence stored in the Hutschenreuther archives.
Anyway, all that is irrelevant as the item was re-decorated and thus devalued by a person apparently named ‘BECK’ (most probably a hobbyist).
