Historical information

The dish is an example of the early 20th-century international souvenir trade, in which German porcelain manufacturers produced inexpensive objects depicting Australian towns and tourist destinations. Such objects were intended to be purchased as tangible reminders of travel or locality.
Its use as an ashtray also reflects the domestic and social culture of the period, when smoking accessories were commonplace household objects.

Significance

The dish depicts Victoria Street, Nhill, a significant regional street in the Wimmera township of Nhill, Victoria. The survival of the street name and pictorial representation makes this more than a generic souvenir: it is a small piece of Nhill local-history material culture.

Physical description

Small octagonal/scalloped porcelain dish with a white ground, broad mustard-yellow decorative band and fine black outlining. The recessed central panel contains a sepia transfer-printed view of a country street, with buildings, trees, fencing and roadway. The image is identified beneath by the printed inscription “VICTORIA STREET NHILL.”
The form, with raised sections around the perimeter suitable for resting cigarettes, indicates that it was manufactured as a souvenir ashtray, although it could also have been used as a small decorative dish.
On the base - Red circular manufacturer's mark, incorporating the words “Bavaria” and “Germany.”

Inscriptions & markings

image is identified beneath by the printed inscription “VICTORIA STREET NHILL.” on base - Red circular manufacturer's mark to reverse, apparently incorporating the words “Bavaria” and “Germany.”