Superb Pair of New (Old Stock) German Villeroy & Boch “Cordoba” Porcelain Plates (Approximately 8.4”/21cm, 630g/Pair).
Marvellous plates. In perfect condition. Please browse all 24 sets of photographs attached for details and condition as they are self explanatory.
This item is a porcelain salad plate from the Villeroy & Boch "Switch 3" collection in the Cordoba pattern.
Part of the popular Mediterranean-inspired Switch 3 series, introduced in 1996 and discontinued in 2020, which was specifically designed to allow mixing and matching with other variants like Castell, Corfu, and Costa patterns.
Distinctive blue and white German folk-style design featuring a central stylised blue bird surrounded by flowers, framed by a delicate green outer rim.
Material is premium hard-paste porcelain manufactured in Germany. It is dishwasher and microwave safe.
The famous Villeroy & Boch company began in the tiny Lorraine village of Audun le Tiche, where the iron master François Boch set up a pottery company with his three sons in 1748.
In 1766 Boch was licensed to build a ceramics kilnworks nearby at Septfontaines, Luxembourg, where it operated a porcelain factory.
In 1785 Nicolas Villeroy became sole owner of the faience manufactory at Wallerfangen.
In 1812 Jean-François Boch began construction of kilns at the nearby town of Mettlach, Saarland.
In 1824 Boch commenced transfer printing on porcelain from engraved copper plates.
On 14 April 1836, the Jean François Boch company merged with that of the competitor, Nicolas Villeroy, and became Villeroy & Boch, (V&B, also simply 'VB').
In 1869, Villeroy & Boch opened the first manufactory specializing in architectural tiles.
The company is today operating in two divisions: Tableware, and Bathroom and Wellness.
The Tiles division became a separate company (V&B Fliesen GmbH) in 2006.
In 2007 the Villeroy & Boch AG sold 51% of the V&B Fliesen GmbH to the (Eczacıbaşı Holding). Today there is only a 2.29% holding in the share capital of V&B Fliesen GmbH.
Among its innovations in Mettlach at the end of the nineteenth century was Phanolith, a kind of semi-transparent porcelain that combines the characteristics and benefits of jasperware and pâte-sur-pâte.The creator of the Phanolith was the ceramics artist Jean-Baptiste Stahl, who headed the modelling section of Villeroy & Boch. Phanolith gained first wide public attention at the Paris Exposition Universelle (1900).
Villeroy & Boch has continued to base its broadest market in Germany.