Pottery Mark - Austrian? - Signed "Wahlip Wien" -- are these crossed hammers?

by Richard
(Pennsylvania)

Pottery Mark - Austrian? - Signed "Wahlip Wien" -- are these crossed hammers?:- Hey, I know enough to know that "Wien" is Vienna, Austria. But that is really as far as I can get. This is a very unusual plate here in my small collection, because the painting of this bird, and some of the flowers, are at a very high relief, and do not seem glazed with the plate.

I am quite sure this plate was purely decorative, and I'm not saying attractively decorated, but having detailed decorations, that's for sure.

I do like the effect of the non-symmetical blue border, which gives the illusion of a night sky on the outskirts of this scene. It is a bit Baroque for my taste, but it is an interesting piece.

I have tried to find something about this mark, which may be a crown, above a squiggly, and in front of crossed hammers? I don't think these are swords, but a lot of swords on pottery marks don't look much like swords.

The only thing I see about Vienna is the shield mark, which this does not seem to even remotely resemble. I did find one other fancy cabinet plate that was signed by "Wahlip", but I couldn't find much information about him (I assume a him) either. If this were a modern piece, I would know this is a facsimile signature, but since this plate has some vintage, this might be an actual hand signature. And what a gorgeous signature it is!

I am sure someone will recognize this mark, but my search for "crossed hammers" was not fruitful. I would love to know the maker and approximate date of this plate!

Richard

===============================================

Please contribute to this thread by writing in the comments section below – just scroll down...

HOW I MADE MONEY FROM BITS & BOBS OF OLD CHINA .....more

==============================================

Peter (admin) says:-

Dear Richard

What a fascinating query. Just the sort we like. A beautiful item with a rich and interesting history.

Now, I didn't really know anything about this Wahlip Wein, because, as you may know, I don't claim to be any kind of expert or collector, just an enthusiast who likes gathering and storing accurate information.

One of the things I have gathered is that anything remotely connected with Bohemia or Vienna (or the term "Amphora") tends to have the distinct possibility of a large price tag attached to it!

However, I have lots of reference books and am very good at advanced Googling. What I have found out is that the name does not say Wahlip at all, but it says Wahlis (sometimes spelled Wahliss). It is the signature of one Ernst Wahliss who was originally a retailer of expensive porcelains both in Vienna (hence the Wien) and London.

He then decided to 'vertically integrate' as they say in the business world and in 1894 took over the factory of Alfred Stellmacher factory in Turn, Bohemia (now Trnovany in the Czech Republic) which went by the name of "Alfred Stellmacher Imperial and Royal Porcelain Factory" and also the "Alexandra Porcelain Works" (not to be confused with the companies of Alfred’s son, Eduard Stellmacher - RStK Amphora and Stellmacher Co).

By all accounts, Wahliss's Alfred Stellmacher factory closed in 1934. I looked up the marks for this firm, but didn't see your particular crossed hammer mark listed, so couldn't get a more accurate date for you. If anyone has any information on this mark, please post below.

If I were you I would get this plate appraised:-

My vintage and antique china values page

Best regards

Peter (admin)