Featured Quandary with a Meissen piece...............

It may be possible - but the wire is SO close to the porcelain - it doesn't even "jiggle", so I'm not sure if I CAN get anything under there.

 

2 pliers, bending the outside wire away , up and off the plate.
there's no spring so, bending one will not affect the others.

 

I was going to say that since there are no springs, the plate hanger might be mostly safe where it is. It's the spring that causes all the trouble. If it were mine and the wire had to come off, I'd use two pair of jewelers' pliers. That's how it went on.

 

If you want to maintain the "food virginity", how about a few drops of heavy lubricating oil at each of the hooks. After I oiled them up, I would have a go at the wire on the back, either just above or below the twist on the back, with a pair of jewelers wire snips, straight on, at right angle to the wire. You would probably only have to cut one to release the tension on the dratted thing. Good Luck whatever you try.

 

If you think a jeweler put it on, maybe a jeweler could successfully take it off.

 

I would leave it and let the buyer worry about it. A hanger that has been there since the 20s-30s is bound to be very hard to bend or cut.

 

I've not tried this nor heard it tried so let's start there.

I'd probably try on a "junk" example if I could find one or at least make a version using a junk plate and a coat hanger.... I'd slide a thin plate of metal under a wire on the back to protect the plate and then use a Dremel tool with blade cautiously on the back. It looks to me as if you only have to free one wire to be free of the whole hanger.

I'm guessing there is a better way but I often make things up to try. Do so at your peril

 

Oh Yah, oh Yah, Go SiS, Go SiS...........That is the way to go! Absolutely no pressure or tension on the wire (which is exactly the same as a coat hanger is made from), pressuring the edges opposite where I would be working! I do have a Dremel and I THINK I have a new grinding wheel. I accept the risk, hold no one responsible, and thank you ALL.

Without all of you brainstorming nothing would have come of this.

THANK YOU!!​

 

The top hook looks like bending it down might "unwind" the wires half a turn. No idea if that is enough to relieve any pressure on the edges of the dish.

 

I should have posted these photos before you all started submitting suggestions..........but while I had taken them, I forgot to post them

As you can see from the closeups, the wire is actually touching the porcelain, not even space enough to slip a piece of paper between the wire and the edge or foot. The wire is very stiff, heavy duty - I can't flex it at all - it is stronger than a wire coat hanger. There isn't enough wire at the ends to grab with a pair of pliers without touching the porcelain.

So I was not trying to be difficult whit the suggestions that I just snip it - it would take quite a bit of pressure and I an afraid that the torque or tension would have chipped the edge or foot.

 

Always possible under the wire there is some bit of damage that can't be seen when held so tightly.

 

This too is one of my fears...................I hope to locate the Dremel grinding/cutoff wheel soon so I can verify the condition...................

 

Regarding Thing 1, I would call a 12" Round Plate / Platter like this a Chop Plate. That's what Haviland called their 12" round platters. It goes back to the day when pork chops and other chops were still moist and tender and served for dinner.

 

I'm going to call it a 'deep platter" and a serving dish. This is way too deep to be a chop platter. It is 1.5" deep, like a soup plate. Out of the 12" diameter, barely 4" of the center is actually flat. We called this a basin, not a wash basin, instead a large shallow bowl, but that term may be archaic these days.

 

I dunno. I would’ve probably just cut the wires at the base where they don’t touch the porcelain. If it isn’t tension, then it should just come off without pressure. But whether I’d do that with a piece of Meissen is another thing! I think that one might expect a wee bit of rubbing on the gilding where the wire clamps the rim.

 

A wee bit of rubbing AND/OR some discolouration of the gold that has been in contact with the wire for over 70 years......................those are my fears...............

 

All the more good reason to leave bad enough alone.