Antique Royal Vienna Handpainted Porcelain Cabinet Plate Greek Goddess Daphne Circa 1890

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A fine antique Austrian Royal Vienna handpainted & gilded porcelain cabinet plate, circa 1890.
The plate is very finely decorated … Read more A fine antique Austrian Royal Vienna handpainted & gilded porcelain cabinet plate, circa 1890.
The plate is very finely decorated with a central handpainted scene of the goddess Daphne seated by a steam in a bucolic setting, with her attendant "Silvie".
The border of the plate is almost sumptously decorated with raised gilded panels on blue and red ground, the plate is marked to the verso with Royal Vienna's blue beehive mark and the title "Daphne & Silvie".
The plate is in excellent condition and is reacy to grace your space.

Daphne, was a goddess in Greek mythology and the personification of the laurel, a tree whose leaves, formed into garlands, were particularly associated with Apollo. Traditionally, the special position of the laurel was connected with Apollo’s love for Daphne, the beautiful daughter of a river god (probably Ladon) who lived a pastoral existence in either Thessaly, the Peloponnese, or Syria. She rejected every lover, including Apollo. When the god pursued her, Daphne prayed to the Earth or to her father to rescue her, whereupon she was transformed into a laurel. Apollo appropriated the laurel for poets and, in Rome, for triumphs. Daphne was also loved by Leucippus, who was killed because of Apollo’s jealousy. See less