looking for info on j l menau henneberg porzellan

[momoffive]

I have a J L Menau Grof Von  Henneberg Porzellan 1777( all in a green coat of arms-on the bottom of the box- with a walking bird, looks like a 3 leaf clover and a crown above J L Menau) made in Germany hinged box.  It has a gold '40' stamped on the bottom of the box. The box is porcelain, round and bright yellow.   Along the side of the box and the top are gold flowers and leaves. On the lid encircled in gold there is  a man, with a guitar, and a lady sitting holding flowers in a garden with a city view behind them.  There is a gold metal band on the top and bottom where the box opens.  Inside on the top lid is a mirror. The bottom inside is white with colorful flowers. The box measures 3.5" across and 2.5" tall.  I am not able to find any information on this box anywhere on the internet.  I would appreciate any help in identifying this piece and possible value. thank you so much :rolleyes:  

[kerrybee]

May I shed a little light, and give you a great link?

The porcelain was made in (capital I) Ilmenau in Germany.  Yes, it doesn't look like that but it is.  

Graf Von Henneberg started a porcelain factory 1777.  I could not find your particular backstamp, not based on my bad sketch of your description.  

The link I promised:  http://www.porcelainmarksandmore.firmitas.de

Chris is a well-known expert on German porcelain marks, and he always answers his e-mail.  !!  Personally, I rely on him for these difficult searches.  He would greatly appreciate a picture - or maybe he sketches better than ME.  !!!  Best of wishes.  KB

[Chris_Marshall]

Hi all ...

The 'Henneberg' info was added to my site on Sunday, April 11th. There are a few little things missing that I will add a little later when I get the info verified.

I would like to shed some light on the different writing styles of 'ILMENAU', also seen as 'JLMENAU' : In old German lettering, upper case 'I' and 'J' were the same letter. There was no difficulty in distinguishing the letters in use, because 'I' only appeared before a consonant, and 'J' only before a vowel ...