Painted in the classic pattern with birds in branches and scattered insects within basket-weave borders and shaped gilt line rims, comprising:

An oval two-handled soup tureen, cover and stand
A three-compartment serving dish
Two sauceboats
A very large oval two-handled platter
A circular two-handled tray
A circular serving tray
Twenty-two two-handled soup cups and twenty-four stands
Twenty-eight dinner plates
Twenty-seven luncheon plates
Seventeen crescent-shaped salad dishes
Twenty-four side plates
Twenty-nine bread plates
Twelve berry bowls
A coffee-pot & cover
A cream-jug
Eleven teacups and thirteen saucers, one cup slightly larger
Twenty-two demitasse cups and twenty-five saucers
Twelve egg cups on fixed stands and one egg cup without stand
Eighteen ashtrays

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Lot Essay

Historically one of the most popular services created by Herend, the Rothschild Bird pattern was first crafted by the Hungarian manufactory in 1850. Members of the prominent Rothschild family were important customers and patrons of Herend at the time. As the story goes, Baroness Rothschild one day lost a pearl necklace at her residence in Vienna. The next day, her gardener apparently found it in the beak of bird, playing with it in a tree. As such, the service playfully depicts a variety of birds and insects among foliage, often with a necklace seen tucked among the branches. The darling motif has remained popular to the present, and in 1981, Lady Diana Spencer purportedly chose the pattern for her wedding china.

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Condition report

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The condition of lots can vary widely and the nature of the lots sold means that they are unlikely to be in a perfect condition. Lots are sold in the condition they are in at the time of sale.

Overall good condition; scattered minor wear to enamels and gilding; the service was assembled at different times, sizes and further conditions enumerated below:

An oval two-handled soup tureen, cover and stand-- 17⁷⁄₈ in. (45.4 cm.) long, 12¹⁄₂ in. (31.7 cm.) wide, the tray; 14¹⁄₂ in. (36.8 cm.) wide, the tureen; 10¹⁄₂ in. (26.7 cm.) high, the tureen and cover
A three-compartment serving dish, approx. 13³⁄₈ in. (34 cm.) diameter
Two sauce boats-- 3 in. (7.7 cm.) high, 7³⁄₈ in. (18.7 cm.) long
A very large oval two-handled platter-- 22³⁄₈ in. (56.8 cm.) long, 15³⁄₄ in. (40 cm.) wide
A circular two-handled tray-- 15¹⁄₄ in. (38.8 cm.) wide at the handles, 14 in. (35.6 cm.) diameter; one handle broken and restuck
A circular serving tray-- 14³⁄₈ in. (36.5 cm.) diameter
Twenty-two two-handled soup cups and twenty-four stands-- 6⁵⁄₈ in. (6.9 cm.) wide, the soup cups, 7¹⁄₄ in. (8.5 cm.) diameter, the stands; one saucer with a repaired chip to the underside of the rim, not visible when placed
Twenty-eight dinner plates-- 11¹⁄₈ in. (28.2 cm.) diameter; one with a chip to the rim; one with a hairline crack running through the
center, approx. 3¹⁄₂ in.; several with fading to the central enamels
Twenty-seven luncheon plates-- 9 in. (22.9 cm.) diameter; two with a star crack to the center; three with a star crack to the underside; one with a chip to the rim
Seventeen crescent-shaped salad dishes-- 7¹⁄₈ in. (18.1 cm.) wide, 6¹⁄₈ in. (15.6 cm.) deep; three with a small chip to the rim; one with the shallow chip to the rim
Twenty-four side plates-- 7³⁄₈ in. (18.7 cm.) diameter; one with two rim chips, a hairline crack emanating from one approx. 2 in. long; one with a rim chip and a star crack to the reverse; one with a star crack to the reverse
Twenty-nine bread plates-- 6¹⁄₈ in. (5.7 cm.) diameter; four with star-form hairline cracks to the underside, one of which is visible from the front; two with hairline cracks emanating from the rim approx. 1¹⁄₈ in. long
Twelve berry bowls-- 5⁵⁄₈ in. (4.4 cm.) diameter
A coffee pot & cover, 8¹⁄₄ in. (21 cm.) high, 7¹⁄₄ in. (18.5 cm.) wide; a chip and resulting hairline crack to the tip of the spout
A cream jug-- 3¹⁄₄ in. (8.3 cm.) high, 4¹⁄₈ in. (10.5 cm.) wide
Eleven tea cups and thirteen saucers-- One cup slightly larger than the others
Twenty-two demitasse cups and twenty-five saucers-- Seven of the saucers slightly variant in shape, possibly later additions to the service.
Twelve egg cups on fixed stands-- 2 in. (5.1 cm.) high
An egg cup without stand-- 2⁵⁄₈ in. 6.8 cm.) high; with a hairline crack emanating from the rim approx. 1 in. long
Eighteen ashtrays-- 3¹⁄₂ in. (8.9 cm.) long; two with small rim chips; one with a chip to the footrim

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