031314-1/RL-669

This is a German Royal Bonn earthenware vase, similar to hard paste porcelain. The maker is Steingutfabrik Franz Anton Mehlem. The date is circa 1900.

The vase is 10 ½" high and 9 ½" wide from handle-to-handle.

The blank is quite ornate. The round foot has a raised leaf design colored in magenta with a gold outline. The stem of the foot show oval windows of white glaze, outlined in gold. The round body has an ornate handle on each side, painted in gold trim. The outside of the mouth matches the coloring of the foot and stem.

The glaze is not quite a cobalt, but shaded blue with an iridescent lustre finish.

Each side of the vase has poppies hand painted in shades of magenta pink with white, green and yellow, along green leaves, smaller white flowers and splashes of gold leaves.

The inside of the mouth is glazed in a pearl iridescent lustre.

There are no nicks, chips or cracks. The neck and upper body show a slight amount of crazing, which is typical for earthenware.

The red mark is Royal Bonn with a crown and shield. There is the number 74 hand enameled in red. There are impressed letters and numbers of 2910, 4 and BF.