Q&A ON RESEARCHING MARKS ON
SEVRES STYLE PORCELAIN FIGURINE - PORCELAIN SHOE - MAJOLICA CLOCK - DELFT DESK SET - CHINTZ PLATE

Definitely mid to late 19thC and French in origin. The little gold star is not of any significance with regards to its maker, but the S mark you described is for EDME SAMSON, a renowned Porcelain factory that produced large quantities of very high quality accurate Sevres, Royal Vienna, Meissen etc reproductions. Their wares are regarded as valuable by Collectors and are considered antique since they are usually over 100 years old.

Please use our NAME SEARCH for Samson to see many marks they used and also read a brief Fact Sheet on the company. Your item is in the style of Sevres with extensive Gilt decoration and Neo-Clasiiscal (Greco-Roman) themes. I believe that the head you are referring to is Athena, Greek Goddess of Wisdom and patron of the city of Athens. All other decorative details are typical ancient Athenian symbols.

The mark on your item had actually faded and then someone placed an H over the original mark. Your item was actually decorated by RICHARD KLEMM ca 1890s - 1916 on a Meissen blank. Instead of this H, there should be an RK back-to-back - please use our NAME SEARCH for Richard Klemm to see the original mark. It is listed as No. 3 on that list.

The mark on your lovely Floral Majolica Clock Case was used by GRAND DUCAL MAJOLICA MANUFACTORY - KARLSRUHE. It dates your item to ca 1960s - 1990s. Please use our NAME SEARCH for Grand Ducal to see additional variations of this mark and also read a brief Fact Sheet on the company.

Your lovely Cup & Saucer Set is in the typical Paris Porcelain style. This particular mark is quite generic and originates from one of the hundreds Porcelain Decorating Workshops or Studios (Atelier) located in or around Paris. It probably dates ca 1950s - 1970s, but maybe slightly earlier, depending on any family history (provenance) as to when this was originally acquired.

Most of these Paris Porcelain items are first made as "blanks" (undecorated white-ware) by many major Porcelain Factories in France or more recently abroad, and are then decorated by hand or transfer-ware at many Studios who mark them accordingly.

Your stunning Studio Pottery Vase was not made byShoji Hamada [b.1894 - d.1978], who very rarely marked his work. There is also no mention of him working for Chelsea, but instead he is referenced as working at Leach Pottery (St. Ives, Cornwall) ca 1920 - 1923 and 1929 - 1930. During the rest of his working time, he was in Japan.  Also, the mark on your piece does not match his signature (or of any of his sons, for that matter), who also worked at Leach Pottery ca 1950s - 1960s.

The only tentative match we could find is for Helen Walters (also known as Helen Swain) [b.1929], who used a similar X mark with dots ca 1953 - 1955. She worked with Anita Hoy at Royal Doulton - Lambeth during these same years and then at Hornsey, N. London until 1963. She is referenced as making "Domestic & individual pieces in salt glaze". This also explains the industrially impressed "Made in England", which was probably impressed by the Lambeth factory.

Your mark is included in our database under at least the "ARTIST'S TOOL, HAMMERS or BRUSHES" Shape Category. In this case and for faster viewing, please use our NAME SEARCH for Pirkenhammer to view many variations of this mark (including yours) and also read a brief Fact Sheet on the company.

Your Vase or Urn was made in the KUTANI region of Japan ca mid to late 20thC. You will find several similar marks under our "NON-LATIN LETTERS" Shape Category, or please use our NAME SEARCH forKUTANI to view them all on one page and learn more on the very interesting history of Kutani potters & artisans.

Your elegant Porcelain Desk Set is marked with an imitation of a ca 16th - 17thC Delft mark. However, this item was made fairly recently, most likely ca 1980s onwards. Please note that there were also many similar accurate reproductions made in Holland and France ca late 19thC, so if you have any history on this piece dating it this far back, this may be one of those older reproductions. Please use our NAME SEARCH for Delft to see many similar examples.

In this case, the L.P. & Co. initials mark refers to LIVESLEY, POWELL & Co., a very short lived Earthenware small factory in Staffordshire, UK, ca 1851 - 1866. They later became POWELL, BISHOP & STONIER.  This particular Chintz Pattern name is known as Forget Me Not.

One of the very few companies that used this type of mark along with the IMPROVED IRONSTONE notation, was PINDER, BOURNE & Co. and your item dates ca 1862 to 1882. Please use our NAME SEARCH for PINDER to see other variations and also read a brief Fact Sheet on the company.

Your lovely Studio Pottery vase was made by LEY & WEIDERMANN and dates ca 1882 - 1910. You will find this mark under our "FLOWERS etc" Shape Category or use our NAME SEARCH for LEY & WEIDERMANN to view it faster and read a brief Fact Sheet on the company.

To use our huge database of Pottery & Porcelain marks, including marks on Ceramics of all types, please see our Ceramics Marks Identification service.

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