This is an exquisite Porcelain Covered Pancake Dish made by T&V Limoges and Hand Painted with White Roses. In the Naturalistic style of the late 1800s, the white porcelain dish is decorated with a garland of life-like white roses around the wide rim and circling the cover of this treasure. Talk about tablescapes! This piece is truly a fine example of table art from the turn of the last century. Each blossom is different, with some of the roses showing their yellow-orange centers, and others turned shyly to feature only their creamy-white petals. Touches of leaf green peek from among the lower petals on a few, and the ring of roses stands out on a pastel green ground. The fancy embossed and scalloped rims of both pieces are lavishly covered in gold, and the applied leaf-like handle at the top is also heavily gilded.

The deep underplate is 9-1/4 inches in diameter. The 1-3/4 inch wide rim is about 1-1/2 inches above the table, and the center serving portion of the dish is about 1-inch deep. The cover is 6-5/8 inches in diameter and fits nicely in the subtle groove around the center bottom. It is close to 3-inches to the top of the fancy applied handle, making the total height of the covered dish about 4-1/2 inches tall.

Made by Tressemann and Vogt, Limoges, France the bottom is stamped with the overglaze red T.V. Limoges bell with “TV” inside the bell and “France” below. Also stamped with the underglaze green T&V inside a rectangle followed by France. Both marks were used from 1892 to 1907.

The gold shows the patina of age but very little wear. The hand-painted roses have retained their texture. The underside of the cover and the foot of the underplate both show the expected wear caused by normal use. Manufacturing inconsistencies such as inclusions or bumps may be present, though I haven't located any. There are no chips or cracks.

The holes in the top were made for letting the hot steam escape.Think of delicious, hot paper-thin crepes served in this bowl! It would work equally well for bacon and eggs or English muffins.