The History of Herend
Chinese Bouquet, one of the most popular Herend patterns, may be familiar to Downton Abbey fans. This teapot and cup are served to Cora Crawley on her breakfast tray. Although Chinese Bouquet is available in several colors, to precisely emulate the early morning Lady Grantham experience, the color of choice must be rust.
But not all Herend china is centuries old. New patterns are continually in development, and some are a new take on a long-established design. In 2011, Herend tweaked the Queen Victoria pattern and created Royal Garden specifically for Prince William and his bride, Kate Middleton.
Prince William’s mother, Princess Diana, was also a great fan of Herend, and not only serving pieces. She collected the brand’s figurines with their distinctive Fishnet design, so placing a new figurine in Princess Diana’s Christmas stocking became a family tradition.
Another famous Herend figurine collector is the Austrian-born Hollywood actor Arnold Schwarzenegger. He purchased three porcelain rabbits one Easter at one of the two Budapest Herend stores on the opposite side of the Danube River. It is on this side of the river that the company’s three-story flagship store, Palais Herend, resides, across from a town square featuring the porcelain Tree of Life (in the Rothschild pattern) ornamental fountain with globes that illuminate.
The good news for those who want to purchase Herend’s fine porcelain—be it teapots, dishes, or figurines—one needn’t be a royal or famous actor nor travel to one of the company’s shops in Budapest. Visit herendusa.com/store-locator for a complete list of authorized dealers in the United States. Start—or add to—your collection that will grace your dining table, china cabinet, or, in true Downton Abbey style, an elegant breakfast tray.
Barbara Gulley and her daughter, Rachel, operate Barb’s Tea Service, barbsteaservice.com, a Michigan-based tea education business. On a recent trip to Hungary, Barb visited one of the Herend stores in Budapest (and purchased a teacup in the Chinese Bouquet pattern).
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‘Very interesting. ‘want to now more about Herend…and to renew my TeaTime subscription.
What you call Chinese Bouquet is known to Hungarians as the Apponyi pattern as it was offered to Count Albert Apponyi a Hungarian Statesman in 1931, it exists in different colours, but the original was green