Antique Vignaud Limoges Vegetable Bowl, John Wanamaker, Pink Roses, Gold Gilt Handles, France

This beautiful antique open vegetable bowl is a wonderful example of early 20th-century Limoges porcelain, with an ornate border, heavily gilded handles, and a history connecting France's famous porcelain industry with one of America's legendary department stores. Made by Vignaud in Limoges, France, the bowl features a brilliant white porcelain body surrounded by an elaborate border of tiny pink rose garlands, bright pink floral medallions, green accents, scrolling gold decoration, and fine black detailing. The shaped rim ends in two substantial molded handles covered in rich gold gilt. Rather than simple applied handles, they are incorporated into the flowing outline of the bowl and give this serving piece a particularly elegant appearance.

Condition:
Despite being more than a century old, the bowl remains in excellent antique condition. There are no chips, cracks, crazing or utensil marks. The interior remains clean and bright white, the colorful border is crisp, and the gold gilt retains excellent color with only minor wear consistent with age and use. The underside carries the Vignaud Limoges France maker's mark along with the John Wanamaker retailer's mark. A beautiful surviving piece of an early French porcelain dinner service, suitable for use as an elegant serving bowl, for display, or as a replacement piece for a Vignaud Limoges collection.

Size:
2¼ inches high
10 inches long, handle to handle
7⅝ inches wide

History
This antique vegetable bowl was produced by Vignaud in Limoges, France, an area internationally renowned for its fine hard-paste porcelain. Limoges was not a single porcelain manufacturer but a French city and region where numerous factories and decorating houses produced fine porcelain beginning in the late 18th century. By the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Limoges porcelain had become particularly desirable in the American market, where elaborately decorated French dinner services were sold by fine china dealers and major department stores. This piece was imported and retailed by John Wanamaker, whose Philadelphia and New York department stores became famous for offering an enormous selection of quality merchandise, including luxury imported goods. The bowl bears both the Vignaud Limoges maker's mark and the John Wanamaker retailer's mark. The elaborate decoration reflects the formal dinnerware fashions of the period. Pink rose garlands alternate with decorative medallions and scrolling ornament around the border, while extensive gold gilt highlights the rim and sculpted handles.

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