Recently acquired this cake plate in an auction lot.... it is 10 1/2 inches across at the handles and 10 inches across from the edes of the plate. It appears to be totally hand-painted - from the roses to the gilding along the edge. The gilding looks entirely intact and there are no chips, cracks or other damage to the plate.
I have been sleuthing on the internet and have found that the maker is Elite Works - a company set up in Limoges France by Bawo Dotter which was a company established in New York City in the 1860s to import porcelain, especially from Limoges, into the USA. The red mark on the back of the plate was used from around 1900 to 1914 which makes this cake plate at least 100 years old!!!
There appears to be a name written on the back near the green LIMOGES FRANCE mark and I wonder if it might actually be the artist who decorated this plate. The signature might be worn a bit but I think I see an A N I S after the first 2 marks OR it might be A M S.... Would anyone with any knowledge of the Bawo Dotter Elite Works company know whose signature this might be?
Any information greatly appreciated.
