A wonderfully executed Berry Bowl set consisting of a 9 1/4″ Master and twelve 5 1/2″ berry bowls. Each of the thirteen bowls feature a broad band of burnished gilding around their rims and hand painted floral sprig decor to their wells. We originally thought the floral decor might have been transfers, but after close examination, we have come to the conclusion that these were hand painted (the flowers and stems are above the glaze and can be easily felt with a light brush of a fingertip). We have not been able to identify a maker. Each bowl is backstamped with “Geschutzt”, which roughly translates to protected by law, and “Made in Germany”, which suggests a rather broad time frame of production, from about 1887 (English Merchandise Marks Act o f 1887) up to circa 1945 when Germany was divided into East Germany and West Germany. Not every piece of quality German porcelain was identified as to maker, of course, although it appears most were, we think. This set seems to fall into the unidentified category. There are some incised uncolored marks on the bottom of most of the pieces; some resemble the letter “V”, some resemble the figure “6”, and some resemble a Saguaro cactus, interestingly enough. We have not been able to glean any information from these incised marks, unfortunately. Regardless of maker or history, this set is certainly a beautiful example of German porcelain. Please carefully review the preceding important condition description box and the photo gallery.
