Herend

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The Rothschild Birds Multicolor 5 in L X 6.5 in H

Suddenly, the garden was devoid of any melodic tunes. A serious tone had overtaken the usually noisy expanse as word spread quickly that the Baroness de Rothschild was missing her pearl necklace. Ignorant of the disturbance, two songbirds are chattering away excitedly about their recent discovery. Once they realize who the rightful owner is, the songbirds will do the honorable thing because they proudly demonstrate their loyalty to the Rothschild household by the dramatically painted pattern on their wings. Their blue, green and brown fish scales have become intertwined with the Rothschild name and story.

For the first time, the Rothschild Bird pattern has been rendered in sculptural form. Offering a stylized depiction of the birds, this lovely figurine brings to life the story including the tree that anchors all 12 Rothschild Bird motifs, the colorful buzzing insects as well as the famous pearl necklace.

Endearing animals meek and bold, large and small, demure and majestic eagerly await the chance to melt your heart and warm your home.   Each is brought to life by the skilled hands of artisans crafting and painting these charming porcelain creatures.  The famous fishnet décor adorning many of the animals took form in 1858 when a Herend painter became inspired by a fishscale design he saw on a Chinese porcelain plate and painted a similar pattern onto a rooster figurine to imitate feathers.  The rest is history, with the fishnet design now a Herend signature prized worldwide.

Now the biggest porcelain manufactory in Europe, Herend was founded in 1826 to produce earthenware in the small Hungarian village for which it was named. At the time, Hungary was flooded with low-cost pottery, but in 1839, Mor Fischer became the Manufactory’s new owner and he decided to focus on producing dinnerware replacement pieces for Europe’s royal families to complement their valuable porcelain patterns from Germany and the Far East.



As his client base grew, Fischer commissioned his artists to begin designing dinnerware patterns of their own. Queen Victoria’s 1851 purchase of a large set for Windsor Castle was a milestone, setting the stage for aristocrats throughout Europe to clamor for Herend in their estates.



In the 1850s, Herend added meticulously-crafted figurines to its creations. Herend’s trademark fishnet pattern, which is widely recognized and prized as Herend’s signature design, started in 1858 when an artist who was intrigued with a Chinese plate’s fish scale design painted it onto a rooster figurine to imitate feathers.