| Porcelain has been an admired art and a desired commodity for hundreds of years. In last month's column I briefly discussed the history of porcelain beginning with its origin in Asia to the flourishing market in Europe. |
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| To have a beautiful piece of porcelain does not necessarily mean that it has a substantial value. There are many elements that affect the value of porcelain. In general the elements to look for are the maker, age, quality and condition. In this article, I will focus on the maker's marks. |
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| As mentioned in the previous article, there are several famous manufacturers of porcelain. For example, Meissen uses the blue crossed swords, Royal Vienna uses the blue beehive, Capo di Monte uses the crown over an N. The makers or manufacture mark is usually found on the bottom or underside of the piece. The mark may not only aid in determining the maker and origin, but also the age. Certain makers may have modified their trademark over the years. For instance, Meissen has many variations on its famous blue crossed-swords mark. |
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| Along with the mark, there may be additional wording. Below is a quick guide on dating 19th- and 20th-century Continental porcelain. |
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| If the following wording, primarily in English porcelain, is included with the mark, it may help determine its age: |
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| Royal in trademark -- after 1850 |
| Limited or Ltd after name -- after 1860 |
| Trade Mark -- after c.1870 |
| England in trademark -- after 1890 |
| Bone China -- 20th century |
| Made in England -- 20th century |
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| I cannot stress how important it is not to attach too much importance to the marks or wording. Documented copies of famous manufacturers have been created since the 18th century and possibly earlier. It is important to look at the piece as a whole. |
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| One method of determining a copy is to identify the paste that the piece was created from. For example a majority of the items marked with the early French Sevres marks are marked on later items. The later pieces were created by using hard-paste porcelain and the earlier pieces were created using soft paste. |
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| Dynasty marks on Chinese porcelain may help lead you in the right direction, but also look at the other elements of the piece. Chinese porcelain is copied frequently. As many as 80 percent of the pieces created were made as retrospective pieces of earlier wares. |
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| Not all copies are worthless. For instance, Emile Samson was one of the most known makers of reproductions in the 19th century. He created copies of English, French and German porcelains, Dutch Delftware, French Faience and Persian pottery, among others. Some of his copies fetch values near the values of some of the original pieces. |
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| In my next column, I will focus on the remaining elements to determine the values of porcelain. |
