534/RL-208

This is a 19th century French Haviland Limoges covered butter dish. The age is circa 1876 to 1889.

The butter dish has three parts. There is the base or bowl, the insert with holes drilled in it, and the lid. It is 3 ¾” high to the top of the finial and 4 5/8” wide.

The pattern is a transfer and it is called Old Blackberry. The pattern is what Haviland referred to as a multifloral series, in that different sprays of flowers are shown, and each piece in the pattern will have a different placement of the flowers. One of the designs is a vine with blackberries, thus the name of the pattern. The colors used for the pattern on this dish are blue-grays and browns. There is one spray of blackberries on one side of the base. The other designs are the different flowers in the pattern, such as a wild rose.

The finial is a loop with a design. There is some gold trim on the finial, with a little bit of rubbing wear due to age.

There are no chips, cracks or crazing.

The blue/green overglaze decorating mark is Haviland & Co Limoges inside a double circle. The green underglaze factory mark is H&Co underscored by L.

The pretty butter dish is from the estate of Jonathan Steele.