My Love For Haviland & Co. Limoges China

One of the many things I collect is Haviland & Co. Limoges china and more specifically the hand painted gold and white pieces.  I absolutely love the look and details included and simply can not pass up a monogram piece.  It started with a collection of six M bread plates and developed into a passion for hunting and finding new pieces.  At the moment my collection is still small, but it has the potential to be vast with the way I seem to be to locate pieces.

I feel an episode of Hoarders in my future ... 😉

Photo by Kristen Hechler

A few years ago I purchased my largest amount of pieces when my best friend Lance spotted a number of monogram pieces at an antique store on the Marietta Square. He called me and told me of his find and I immediately raced over to beat the clock before the store closed.  It was an exciting purchase as the monogram was one letter different from my grandmother and one letter different from both myself and Little Bit.  I was thrilled when I brought it home knowing one day I would wrap it up as a gift for her.  It is truly so beautiful. 

Photo by Christina Wedge

Limoges porcelain, any hard-paste porcelain produced near the town of Limoges, France, began in the late 18th century.  David Haviland, a New York business man seeking new ways to produce and decorate porcelain, arrived in Limoges, France and by the end of 1842 had produced his first collection of Haviland & Co. china and shipped it home to the United States.  His process of having artists on site to decorate the pieces was the first of its kind and this process is still in place today. Haviland Company has passed down through the years and today is run by his great-grandson Theodore Haviland II. A number of the early pieces are still in existence and are believed to be highly sought after and collected.  I do not believe any of the pieces I own are quite this old, but I will be inspecting their stamps to make sure.  

Photo by Christina Wedge

The details and gold edges with stunning hand painted monograms are so beautiful.  Not all of the pieces I own contain monograms and some of my favorite pieces do not.  I found an amazing collection of serving pieces at Scott Antique Market in November and was so excited to use them on our Christmas table.  From the creamers to the lidded pieces and the darling egg cups I was so excited to set them up and fill them with my vintage ornaments. I knew when I spotted the large collection of pieces they would make a fabulous table and the only down side was not being able to bring the extensive collection home.  There were so many pieces!

Photo by Christina Wedge

I think my favorite thing about the collection is how the pieces are simple enough to work with so many colors and yet are remarkable and elevate any table to feeling special.  The moment I add a piece I feel the table taking a turn toward memorable and I believe any time you are gathered around a table it should be memorable. With the crazy busyness of life there is truly nothing like a group of people gathered around a table.

I found some amazing pieces at incredible prices on Ebay and have gathered them for you below.  Most of the pieces have a Buy It Now option which is my favorite since watching auctions requires patience and time and I definitely not a patient girl when it comes to purchasing antiques.  Anyone else super impatient when you see something listing on an auction site.  I am most definitely a BIN girl!  😉

Here's to set tables, collections and beautiful tables to gather around with family and friends!