What many people today believe to be a representation of an ancient form of beehive or skep (flat side down) is actually a stylised representation of the Austrian banded shield (flat side up). This misunderstanding was further worsened by the fact that some ignorant people used to place the mark upside down. This practice became so widespread that even local artists deliberately ignored its origins, fearing that customers abroad would be horrified to see the mark correctly aligned as it would appear weird to them.
Lore has it that an Austrian royal lost his standard bearer during a battle, leaving no one to show ("fly") his colours. This was very important, especially in brutal hand-to-hand combat, as the flying of the aforementioned colours allowed allies to easily recognise (and rally around) their leader. Unwilling to give up the fight, the royal in question cut off a piece of the fallen flag and wrapped it around his shield, once again clearly displaying his colours. He then rejoined the battle and led his men to victory.
Whether this is just a nice story or something close to the truth, the distinguishing feature in this story is a particular shield: flat on top, with a tapering or rounded lower half. Straight out of Austrian heraldry, this is exactly the type of shield that the Royal Porcelain Manufactory of Vienna later chose as their basic trademark: flat top, rounded bottom.
So when it comes to the correct depiction of a mark stating that an item was decorated in "Royal Vienna style" (no matter if the claim is true or not), the correct orientation shows the flat line at the top. Incorrect marks are those with the flat line at the bottom, even if they are placed above Vienna or similar. It is fair to say that everything having a mark with the flat line at the bottom (beehive style) is not to be trusted. Which does not mean that the other version is automatically true Royal Vienna, it is just that flat-side-up is the correct orientation of this mark.
Always remember: no matter what you may believe or have been told, there are no Royal Vienna items on the free market in existence today. What you may see as such is nothing more than an item that is claimed to have been made and decorated in the "Royal Vienna" style, a claim that is often debatable in itself as many decoration types are simply not Viennese (e.g. everything Watteau or Fragonard inspired).
© 2004-2026 C.S.Marshall, all rights reserved