KPM Butterfly Dish

Q: I got this butterfly serving dish with gold handle as a wedding gift in 1957. It came from an antiques store in my town. It’s marked with a straight line above “KPM.” I’ve never found an exact match. I’d like to know more about it.

A: The initials “KPM” were used by several German porcelain makers. This mark with a vertical bar above the initials was used by the Krister Porzellan-Manufaktur (Krister Porcelain Manufactury) in Waldenburg, Germany. The company was in business under various owners and names from 1831 to 2016. Carl Franz Krister bought an existing porcelain factory in 1831 and a second factory in 1833. He made porcelain in the style of the Konigliche Porzellan Manufaktur (Royal Porcelain Manufactory) of Berlin and even copied the mark, replacing the scepter in the Konigliche mark with a bar. Krister Porcelain Manufactory used this mark from 1840 to 1895. Your butterfly dish is a relish dish. Krister divided relish dishes have sold recently for $25 to $50.