Herend Rothschild Bird: A Guide to the Pattern

Where the name comes from

Several of Herend's best-known patterns carry the name of an early customer, and Wikipedia lists the Rothschild family among them. The pattern is usually dated to 1860, the year the Paris Tableware store FAQ gives for the Rothschild commission. A story often told with it involves a pearl necklace that went missing in a Rothschild garden and turned up in a tree where birds had carried it, with the motifs said to picture the scene. We have not found a record that confirms the tale, so read it as a legend that travels with the pattern.

The manufactory files the pattern under "Rothschild evolution" in its online catalog, and its pieces there carry the same RO code you will find in the item numbers at Paris Tableware.

The twelve motifs, and how to order them

Each motif is its own arrangement of birds, branches and insects. At Paris Tableware most Rothschild Bird pieces are listed once with a motif menu. Open the Herend Rothschild Bird Dinner Plate and you pick Motif 1 through Motif 12. The same menu appears on the salad, dessert, bread and butter and service plates, the rim soup, the Canton cup and saucer, the coaster and the Herend Rothschild Bird Mug.

A few pieces are listed one motif at a time instead. In the bordered versions the tea cups are separate listings, such as Herend Rothschild Bird Blue Border Tea Cup, Motif 01, and the small coffee cups follow the same rule, as in Herend Rothschild Bird After Dinner Cup - Motif 01. Brown Border dinner plates come as two listings. The one named Herend Rothschild Bird Brown Border Dinner Plate, Motif 01 offers the first four scenes; the one named Herend Rothschild Bird Brown Border Dinner Plate, Motif 05 offers the other eight.

The motif also closes the item number. RO----01524-0-07 is the plain dinner plate in Motif 7, and RO-EB-01524-0-07 is the Blue Border dinner plate with the same scene.

Plain, bordered or Garden

The plain version has by far the biggest range, from coffee pots and covered butter dishes to vases and candy dishes. The bordered versions concentrate on the table itself: place-setting pieces with a creamer and covered sugar, plus a bird-knob teapot and a few serving pieces in Blue and Green. Rothschild Garden keeps the leafy branches and leaves out the birds, which makes it the quietest member of the family.

Choosing motifs for your table

• Twelve settings: take one of each motif, and no two guests share a scene.
• Six or eight settings: pick the scenes you like best, or buy motifs in pairs so people sitting opposite each other see the same picture.
• A matched table: repeat one motif at every place. The motif menu makes repetition as easy as variety.
• Replacing a piece: compare your plate with the motif photos on the product page. The scene number is also the last two digits of the item number, as in the Motif 7 example above.

Rothschild Bird for tea and coffee

The plain pattern has rose-knob teapots in 36 oz and 60 oz, with coffee pots to match. The Blue Border and Green Border versions swap the rose for a small porcelain bird on the lid, as on the Herend Rothschild Bird Blue Border Tea Pot with Bird Teapot. For every day there is the 10 oz Herend Rothschild Bird Mug, sold by motif, and the 16 oz Herend Rothschild Bird Coffee Mug. Our guide to Herend tea sets compares pot sizes and knobs across the patterns.

What goes well with Rothschild Bird

Set a Rothschild Bird salad plate on a Golden Edge dinner plate and the white and gold ring makes a frame for the bird scene. Rothschild Garden shares the leafy branches, so Garden dinner plates and bird salad plates also belong together. Pair the Blue Border with cobalt glassware or a blue-and-white tablecloth; save the Brown Border for wood tables, candlelight and Thanksgiving.