If you are a Danish porcelain lover and want to collect Royal Copenhagen Christmas dishes, then you need to know the history of the company itself. It is important to know the history so that you can learn to identify the right Royal Copenhagen works and appreciate the art and crafts that go into each and every dish they make.
Royal Copenhagen was born in 1775 Denmark. Frantz Heinrich Muller, a chemist, had been experimenting for years and finally discovered how to best produce hard porcelain. The company was under the protection of the Queen of Denmark and bore the trademark (and later the trademark) of three wavy lines, intended to symbolize the three straits of Denmark.
At first, these plates were not made. In fact, the factory had a lot of problems from the beginning. Denmark does not have many of the resources necessary to manufacture and produce porcelain. But in 1779 King Christian VII, then king, invested money in the factory and guaranteed its future.
In 1849, the monarchy as an absolute method of government was abolished in Denmark, so their royal investment no longer guaranteed them a place in the market. In 1868, Royal Copenhagen became privately owned.
In 1908 the first Royal Copenhagen Christmas plate was made. This started a tradition of annual Christmas dishes that continues to this day. The plate was developed using new glazing techniques. FA Halin cut the design in relief onto the plate and used interchangeable layers of color to create a variety of rich blue hues. His technique set the benchmark for the quality that Royal Copenhagen Christmas plates are famous for, and that makes them such sought-after collectibles.
Each Christmas dish is unique for the year in which it is made. The year appears on the surface of the plate. Even today, the way they make plates hasn’t changed much from how they were made in the early 20th century. Each plate is hand painted.
Royal Copenhagen’s first Christmas dish from 1908 is called ‘Mary With Child’ and is one of the most sought after by collectors. Another desired piece is the small plate from 1911, known as the “Thief Plate”, which is different from the normal plate from 1911 “Wooden Fence with Sheaf of Corn”. The newest plates that collectors want are the 2004 and 2005 plates that were signed by the artist, Sven Vestergaard. These can be found, but generally in very limited quantities.
