Throughout the 19th century, the name "Rothschild" was associated with wealth, luxury, and opulence. The Herend Porcelain Company, of Budapest, Hungary, immortalized the legacy of this amazing family by creating the Rothschild Bird dinnerware collection. The Replacements, Ltd. Museum features unique pieces in this beautiful collection, including a very rare two-part dolphin relish dish. The Rothschilds acquired their fortune in European banking. In the late 1700’s, Amschel Mayar Rothschild started a collection of rare coins. Soon, he began trading his ancient coin collection for money. Word spread of the unique service that Rothschild offered and his services came to be requested throughout Europe. Later, he sent each of his five sons to a different country in Europe to open a bank.

Within a short period of time, the Rothschilds were one of the richest families in Europe. In 1850, the Rothschilds called upon the Herend Porcelain Company to create a dinner service for their Vienna estate. The Herend Company created a dinnerware service that recounted a story of the Rothschilds in which Baroness Rothschild of Vienna lost her pearl necklace. The next day, the necklace was spotted by a gardener in a tree. Birds in the tree were actually playing with the necklace! The service based on this story was delivered to the Rothschild family in 1850. Since that time, Herend has produced this beautiful hand-made dinner service in a very large variety of pieces, though some pieces, such as the 2-part dolphin relish dish, are extremely rare (again, due to its rarity, this featured museum piece is not offered for sale). Click here to access an unbelievable array of stunningly beautiful pieces in this pattern that ARE for sale!

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