German Porcelain

San Francisco, California - February 23, 2008 - In the last decade, there has been a huge influx of porcelain items, especially figurines and other decorative porcelain objects, which are marked with what appears to be more European or American marks . Most of these items are high quality, but are not old. The vast majority of them come from China or Asia in general, and usually do not a country of origin mark.

"We receive hundreds of these marks as inquiries from our members," says Lisa Marion www.Marks4Antiques.com. "Usually, our researchers can tell right away that these lovely porcelain items are made in China, but most brands are so similar to authentic old marks that require a more detailed examination. Marks4Antiques.com continually updating databases data and includes all brands of new china when they meet. In this way, members of the site can quickly determine the authenticity of their antiques and avoid costly mistakes.

For example, articles intended for export to the United States after 1891 must also declare the country of origin. This requirement was enacted into law based on several Tariff Acts in the 1890s. Older items usually include the country of origin as part of their global brand or the words "Germany" or "England", "France" etc near the actual porcelain mark. However, many recent Asian imports get away with this legal requirement by using a sticker or label, which is often removed or lost after the entry point to the United States.

Fortunately, there are other ways to recognize most of these brands counterfeit or imitation porcelain. Here are some simple tips:

1) Examine the mark on the edges with a magnification of the objective: that the mark appears too perfect and perhaps applied using an industrial machine, then the mark is probably recent. In these cases, the mark is usually stamped or at times slightly raised or impressed. Most items made before 1950 had their marks applied by hand, so these stamps do not wear out or the firmness with which they were applied varied from worker to worker or over time. Older porcelain marks are not as clear or sharp edges.

2) If the mark is a shape or symbol, look closely: Most recent porcelain marks are close imitations of the authentic marks used by Meissen, Sevres, Chantilly, English Staffordshire Potteries (usually arms or crests), Gardner, etc. However, they almost always differ by one or two small details, such as the endings are not the same loops or symbols that are obscure or are out of scale. Although some older authentic brands were applied in free hand style, using a fine brush of an artist, the difference is still visible once you've seen several versions of the original brand.

3) If the mark includes words, read carefully: Often, new imitation porcelain marks intentionally misspell words, like "SEVRE" instead of "Sevres" or "STAFORDSHIRE" instead of "STAFFORDHIRE, etc. If Please compare theName you read with the authentic one by running a quick search on Google or eBay.

4) The size of the mark: In general, marks the latest porcelain are larger than the original. It is very possible to find a brand that is virtually identical to an authentic one and over, but its size is 2 or 3 inches in diameter. Older porcelain marks rarely exceed 1 to 1.5 inches.

5) Be aware of the word "China" because "China" also refers to dishes like "porcelain", many brands of china lately include the word CHINA in the mark, for example, "Ironstone China" in capital letters This contributes to comply with the laws of the country of origin but also confuses a collector to believe that this is part of the name of origin. In fact, many brands of ancient pottery, especially in England and United States, as well as many logos LEGITIMATE.