Antique Royal Copenhagen Flora Danica “Dryas Octopetala” Botanical Dinner Plate, Iceland National Flower

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Antique Royal Copenhagen Flora Danica porcelain dinner plate hand-painted with Dryas octopetala, the mountain avens and national flower of Iceland, … Read more Antique Royal Copenhagen Flora Danica porcelain dinner plate hand-painted with Dryas octopetala, the mountain avens and national flower of Iceland, with the collection’s distinctive gilt sawtooth border and botanical identification inscribed on the reverse.

Flora Danica is among the most celebrated botanical porcelain services ever produced. Each piece was individually decorated with a remarkably detailed plant specimen derived from the great 18th-century botanical work Flora Danica. Here, delicate white blossoms, yellow centers and finely rendered green foliage spread gracefully across the white porcelain ground.

The shaped rim is richly finished with gilding and the characteristic pointed border associated with the Flora Danica service. Royal Copenhagen factory marks and the Latin botanical identification appear on the reverse.

Beautiful displayed individually on a stand or wall, this is also an exceptional addition to an established Flora Danica collection.

COLLECTOR'S NOTE
Flora Danica remains one of Royal Copenhagen’s most prestigious and labor-intensive porcelain services. Remarkably, the service is still produced by special order today. Royal Copenhagen offers approximately 3,000 botanical motifs across some 40 forms, with each piece individually interpreted and hand-painted by a skilled porcelain painter.

Production is exceptionally demanding: from the placement of an order through completion, a Flora Danica piece may be fired at least eight times and pass through approximately 30 pairs of hands. Because of the individual hand painting, no two examples are precisely alike.

This plate is particularly appealing for its depiction of Dryas octopetala, or mountain avens, the national flower of Iceland—combining the history of Royal Copenhagen porcelain with botanical and Scandinavian interest.

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