Antique Reticulated Chestnut Bowl & Stand / Platter Black Transferware P J Boch Luxembourg

$199.99

Brand Nancy's Daily Dish

Here is a very, very rare chestnut bowl and stand dating to 1834-45 by P J Boch (Pierre Joseph Boch), son of the founder of the iconic Villeroy & Boch company, which remains still in business today.

Chestnut bowls rarely survived due to their very fragile nature. Chestnuts were served in these Chinese style porcelain baskets, freshly roasted and peeled, then eaten like any nut. The slotted/reticulated bowl allowed the escape of steam from the hot chestnuts.

1829- While the second Boch generation achieved an optimised product quality by experimenting with materials, the third generation made a decisive leap with Jean-Francois Boch. Trained at the École de Sciences in Paris, the entrepreneur successfully develops a type of earthenware which is bright white and extremely hard. It looks deceptively like porcelain, but could be supplied considerably cheaper. This path democratised tableware. As a result of this early innovation, porcelain – the previously rare and costly, precious treasure reserved solely for the nobility – if now affordable for broad classes of society. The products are not only well-accepted on the market, but also officially. At the first Prussian trade exhibition in Berlin in 1822, the Bochs receive the gold medal, which is followed by many national and international awards.

 

More of the Villeroy & Boch history, which began in 1700 can be found here: 

https://www.villeroy-boch.com/shop/our-history

Chestnuts have been eaten since prehistoric times. During the 18th and 19th centuries, Americans used ground chestnuts as bread flour and a substitute for potatoes. Most chestnuts that are cooked today are imported from Japan, China, Spain and Italy.



The bottom is impressed P J Boch Luxembourg No. 2
Measures: Tray is 12" x 10" Bowl is 11" x 8 3/4" x 3 3/4"

Condition:  Bowl has several cracks professionally repaired but you can see (if you look very closely) some of the places where the pieces were repaired.  Tray is in good condition