Late 20th Century Mottahedeh Chinese Export Style Porcelain Goose Tureen Made in Italy

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Fantastic piece of vintage Mottahedeh produced in Italy. A wonderful centerpiece. Imagine this tureen as the perfect accent for Thanksgiving … Read more Fantastic piece of vintage Mottahedeh produced in Italy. A wonderful centerpiece. Imagine this tureen as the perfect accent for Thanksgiving or Easter decor. Internet research indicates that Mottahedeh reproduced a goose tureen based on an 18th-century Chinese export piece and that they were produced in the latter part of the 20th century.

Rafi Mottahedeh founded Mottahedeh & Company in 1924 and was joined by his wife, Ruth, in 1929. They initially focused on importing antique porcelain, much of it valuable artifacts of the Ming era. They later began producing porcelain reproductions, making the company one of the earliest to do so. As a pioneer in the field at a time when many museums frowned upon reproductions, Ruth Mottahedeh advocated heavily in favor of them, saying "If we didn't reprint books, look at how much we'd lose in history ... The same is true of porcelain. If we didn't remake them, we'd lose all those designs." Over the course of the company’s history, it worked with companies and museums around the world and Ruth was considered one of the foremost international authorities on Chinese export porcelain. In addition to running their business, the Mottahedeh’s gathered a very large personal collection of Chinese porcelain.

Chinoiserie first gained popularity in Europe in the 18th century. Europeans had a fascination with Asia due to their increased, but still restricted, access to new cultures through expanded trade with East Asia, especially China. The 'China' indicated in the term 'chinoiserie' represented in European people's mind a wider region of the globe that could embrace China itself, but also Japan, Korea, South-East Asia, India or even Persia. See less