Herend

Since 1826, Herend porcelain has produced outstanding and distinctive porcelain. Each piece of Herend porcelain is entirely hand painted.  Located in the village of Herend, Hungary about 56 miles west of Budapest, the manufactory employs 220 potters and 400 artists to hand paint them.  Herend is know for both their distinctive dinnerware patterns and also their animal figurines featuring the fishnet design.  The product range is very extensive featuring over 5000 patterns .

Herend also has a deep history with the European Royal Families, especially with the British Monarchy.  While attending the 1851 World Exhibition in London, Queen Victoria saw a Herend dinner service decorated with a design of butterflies and flowers.  She liked it so much that she promptly commissioned a set for Windsor Castle, and Herend decided to name the pattern in her honor, the Queen Victoria pattern.  On the pattern’s 160th anniversary in 2011, Herend created a new twist on Queen Victoria for Prince William and his bride Kate Middleton, called Royal Garden.  Prince Charles and Princess Diana also owned Herend dinnerware in the Rothschild Bird and Blue Garland patterns.  Throughout Herend’s history more than 25 royal families worldwide are known to have owned Herend.

A charming legend accompanies Herend’s popular Rothschild Bird pattern. Created in the 1860s for the Baron de Rothschild family of Europe, the pattern features 12 different bird motifs and is considered to be an excellent example  of hand painting on porcelain.  Each of the twelve motifs represent a 19th century Hungarian legend about Baroness Rothschild who lost her prized necklace in the garden of her Vienna residence.  Several days later it was found by her gardener, who spied birds playing with it in a tree.

Herend Porcelain has a longstanding tradition with the United States and been imported since 1957. Special editions and colors have been made exclusively for the American market such as the American Wildflower pattern.  Kneen & Co sells a variety of dinnerware patterns and limited edition figurines.  More products and information coming soon.