Reine Elisabeth

A few months, I discovered a very interesting pattern by Bernardaud. There were birds that looked like cranes in gilt on a white background with lots of flowers. The placement of the design on a white background was stunning. Additionally, the shape of these dished was in the Versailles form, a very attractive model with a raised basket weave pattern along the rim. As I continued to look at this pattern, I finally realized what it was about the pattern that caught my interest.

The pattern, named Reine Elisabeth, is in the same style as the Bernardaud Chantilly pattern. The Chantilly pattern has the exact same design, except with floral colors on a Regency form. With the Reine Elisabeth, the design was gilt on either a white background with the Versailles form or, on a cream background in the Regency form.

The style of the design, with a crane or phoenix and flowers, was based upon a 18th century pattern from the soft-paste porcelain manufacturer Chantilly, in the chinoiserie style. Chinoiserie is a style that was very popular in the 18th century. It is the European interpretation of Chinese or Japanese style.

Bernarduad created the Reine Elisabeth pattern in recognition of Queen Elizabeth’s first official visit to France as queen in April 1957. A very pretty pattern.