A set of eleven porcelain plates, the lobed rim moulded in low relief with C-scrolls highlighted in gilt; a circular reserve at centre painted with a topographical view of a building or site in the principality of Gotha, surrounded by a tooled gilt border.

At the end of March 1844 Prince Albert made a visit to Gotha on his way to Coburg following the death of his father in January. He wrote home to Queen Victoria on 2 April: ‘Here I conclude my chronicle for the day, announcing that I have got toys for the children, and porcelain views for you…’. These latter may have been the set of plates produced by the Henneberg factory in Gotha. They are decorated with views of the town of Gotha, including the old Prinzen Palais, and the Friedrichsthal, residence of Albert's step-grandmother Caroline, Duchess of Saxe-Coburg-Altenburg. The hunting lodges in the environs of the dukedom - at Oberhof and Rheinhardsbrunn - are also included. This particular plate is illustrated with a view of Der Thorstein (a mountain near Gotha now known as Torstein).

Text from Victoria & Albert: Art & Love.