Expert: Martin G Roberts - 9/26/2007

Question
My step-mom has a old pewter wall plate with a crest in the center,,the shield has a  German iron cross in the center and a crown on top of it,,on top of the crown is a nest with a baby bird looking up to get fed from the mother,some kind of crane or phoenix like bird, with its wings spread out,on the back  is  what looks like oE marking, her mom tried looking it up thinking its pre-war,can you tell us about it?

Answer
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French or German, decorative souvenir ware of around 1900. Very, very common type. The decoration is probably an old family or institutional coat of arms, but just borrowed for this piece - it did not belong to them.

Martin
www.antique-metalware.co.uk