This is a very lovely and large 12 5/8″ diameter HAND-PAINTED DECORATIVE SERVING PLATE, though I do wonder with this type of beautiful painting if it would have been used more for display than for serving. The plate is in a warm cream colored glaze having a scalloped edge with cream-colored glazed stylized flower and leaf border. In the center of the plate is a beautifully detailed hand-painted bouquet of brightly colored pansies in shades of yellow, purple, red, white and dark pink. It measures about 1 1/2″ in depth.
This fabulous piece is signed on the back B. V. MOTRE. Though I am not sure of the country of origin, it is most likely European. This gorgeous plate is in excellent condition with no chips, cracks or flaking paint. I would like to determine the age of this lovely piece. I guessed Victorian but I really have no idea. Any information would be most appreciated
Sorry, but I can not answer those questions as there is not enough to go after:
How should I know if the person which decorated an item actually continued to use it or simply (re)decorated it for fun and display? Or if he/she merely (re)decorated a single item or a whole set? Even the question of age can not be answered; there are no original marks present which would allow the dating of the base item, not even mentioning that the decoration itself could actually have been applied last week.
In fact many redecorated items are left-overs from older sets (re)decorated long after the set was actually made, hence an original manufacturer marking would also not directly point towards a specific date range.
