Red Chinese Porcelain Marks Identification

In general the marks will be red or blue and hand painted or stamped.

Red chinese porcelain marks identification.

Identify a mark by shape. Marks of earlier periods have been used throughout almost the history of chinese porcelain. Consider the color of the marks and how they were applied to the porcelain piece. Almost at the same time that the chinese invented porcelain they also invented marks and copies sometimes to learn sometimes to honor sometimes to deceive sometimes to replace sometimes just to meet a demand.

Reign marks should be studied alongside the many different variations of hallmarks auspicious marks potters marks and symbols that you find on the bases of chinese porcelain throughout the ages. If you see red marks the piece was likely created in the mid. Reign marks are usually four or six characters in length and can be found on the base or the side of an item. Identifying chinese porcelain involves more than just knowing the mark in order to decide age and manufacturer as many novices do believe.

Chinese porcelain reign marks identification. Notice that the red mark also must have been applied in hong kong since it is actually moved off center to give way for the gold mark. In general the marks will be red or blue and hand painted or stamped. Marks with letters are listed in alphabetical order.

If you see red marks the piece was likely created in the mid 19th century while pieces with blue marks were likely made later. Consider the colour of the marks and how they were applied to the porcelain piece. Reign marks can play a pivotal role in helping to identify the period in which chinese artefacts were created. A useful reference book is the handbook of marks on chinese ceramics gerald davison london 1994.

The identification and authentication of chinese porcelain is a complex process of an overall verification of a number of factors. Mark on chinese porcelain erotic cup. In the world of ming and qing dynasty art knowing how to look at a reign mark is a key asset for any collector specialist or enthusiast to correctly identify the date and the value of a piece of chinese porcelain. See a comparison of chinese and non chinese marks.

Reign marks can be found on chinese ceramics mainly from the early ming dynasty 15 th century through to the qing dynasty 1644. The most common marks on porcelain tend to be written in underglaze blue within a double circle. There was a brief time during the kangxi period in 1667 when the emperor issued an edict forbidding the use of his reign mark on porcelain in case the ceramics were smashed and discarded.