Theodore Haviland Limoges Covered Soup Tureen, Schleiger 324C, Pink Roses & Gilt, Antique, Circa 1903–1925

Clusters of pink roses, tiny white blossoms, and fresh green leaves wander across this covered soup tureen, inside the bowl as well as out, so that lifting the lid reveals another small garden. The porcelain is shaped with care: soft molded scrollwork runs along the rims of the lid and bowl, and the tureen rises from a gently scalloped foot. Gold finishes the piece, rich along the looped handles and the arched finial, with fine strokes and dots of gilt curling across the lid. A small notch at the lid’s edge leaves room for the ladle, so the soup can stay covered and warm at the table.

The tureen carries Theodore Haviland’s red Limoges backstamp, dating it to circa 1903–1925, from the firm Theodore Haviland founded in Limoges after leaving his family’s company. That makes it more than a century old. The pattern is catalogued as Schleiger 324C.

Condition: Excellent for its age. No chips, cracks, hairlines, or crazing. Gilt wear at the handles and foot, consistent with more than a century of careful use. 

On a cold evening, with a pot of soup ladled out around a full table, it does what it was made to do more than a hundred years ago.

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