Sorting out the value of a wall plaque

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Dear Helaine and Joe:This wall plate or plaque appears to have been made by Mettlach, and we are interested in knowing its age and approximate value. It is 17-1/4 inches in diameter and has the numbers 1044 and 1123 on the back along with the company's other marks. The glaze has a light crackled effect on both sides, but the plate has no chips or cracks.Thank you,C.T.C., Fountain Valley, Calif.Dear C.T.C.:The place name "Mettlach" is derived from Latin and means "between the lakes." This town is located in the Merzig-Waden district in Germany, and is close to the border with France and Luxembourg.Jean Francis Boch was the son of Pierre-Joseph Boch, who owned a successful pottery. The son bought the old Benedictine Abbey of Mettlach. The abbey had a famous tower modeled after a cathedral built by the Emperor Charlemagne in 786. The abbey itself had been founded in the seventh century, and its trademark tower was constructed from 987 to 1000.During the French Revolution, the monks had been driven out and the property taken over by the new French Republic, which sold the premises to Jean Francis Boch, who established a pottery called Boch-Buschmann.Buschmann, incidentally, was the family name of Boch's wife, and they supplied financial support for the new enterprise.In 1836, this firm merged with Nicholas Villeroy's ceramics factory to form Villeroy and Boch, which is still in business to this day. The peak of artistic production at Mettlach, a unit of Villeroy and Boch, is said to have been between 1880 and about 1910. World War I and a disastrous fire in 1921 were largely responsible for the end of this golden age.Mettlach is most widely known for the production of artistically designed steins, which started to be made in the mid-19th century. But the company made many other things, such as beakers, vases, jardinieres, trays, compotes, baskets, punch bowls, centerpieces and a vast variety of wall plaques -- both round and rectilinear.The example belonging to C.T.C. has the mold number 1044 and the design or decoration number 1123; 1044 was a very popular form and is a round-dish-shaped design that is most often decorated with prints-under-glaze (called "PUGs" by Mettlach collectors). The most commonly found 1044s are printed castle scenes, but some designs were handpainted.The size of the 1044s varied and they can be found in diameters of 7-1/2, 8, 8-1/2, 10-1/2, 12, 13, 14, 17, 17-1/2 and 18 inches -- but the 12-, 14- and 17-inch sizes predominate. The particular plaque belonging to C.T.C. is called "Young Girl and Geese," and it had a mate that was design No. 1122 and is also called "Young Girl and Geese."We think the one in today's question is most appealing, with bright colors of blue, red and yellow, and the scene itself is charming. The crackled effect -- or network of small cracks in the glaze -- that was mentioned in the letter is fairly common on earthenware and is caused when the glaze shrinks more than the body when the piece is being fired in the kiln.This does detract from the value a bit, but not too badly unless it is unsightly. For insurance-replacement purposes, this circa-1900 piece should be valued in the $575-to-$675 range.(Helaine Fendelman and Joe Rosson are the authors of "Price It Yourself" (HarperResource, $19.95). Contact them at Treasures in Your Attic, 5201 Kingston Pike, Suite 6 - 323, Knoxville, TN. 37919. E-mail them at treasures(at)knology.net.)