The mark on the base is where every porcelain investigation begins.
Turn a piece of porcelain over and you will probably find a mark on the base: Chinese characters in underglaze blue, two crossed swords, interlaced L’s with a letter between them, or simply a stamped factory name. That mark is the first clue to who made the piece, where and when. But the base is also the most misleading part of the whole object: no element of porcelain is copied, imitated and deliberately faked as often as the mark.
This guide explains how to read the main families of porcelain marks: the imperial reign marks of the Qing dynasty, apocryphal marks, People’s Republic porcelain made after 1949, and the great European factory marks of Meissen, Sèvres, Delft and Limoges. You will also see how CeramCheck works, the porcelain and ceramics module of AntiqBot, which compares a photographed mark against reference authorities such as the Kovels factory marks database, MarcaPedia and the Online Encyclopedia of Ceramic Marks, combined with auction results from Catawiki, Christie’s, Sotheby’s, Bonhams and Bernaerts.
A mark is a claim, not proof. The question is never just what is written on the base, but whether the rest of the object lives up to that claim.
Prefer a direct answer? Create a free account and run your first analysis at no cost. After that you buy credits per pack, from €0.60 per analysis. Photograph the mark and the object, and CeramCheck delivers a report within 1 to 2 minutes.
From mark to meaning in three steps.
What a mark does and does not prove.
The biggest beginner mistake is reading the mark as a label stating the truth. Experienced connoisseurs read it as one signal among many. These six principles are the core of any serious mark analysis.
How to photograph a mark for analysis.
Place the object on a neutral, matte surface in daylight, ideally near a window without direct sun. Photograph the base straight from above so the mark is not distorted, and switch off the flash: flash light kills detail in the glaze and makes underglaze blue unreadable. Check on screen that every character or detail is sharp.
Then photograph more than the mark alone: the full object, a close-up of the decoration, and the foot rim with the exposed paste. That combination allows an analysis that goes beyond reading: the foot rim shows how the piece was thrown and fired, the paste shows the clay, and the decoration shows whether it was painted by hand or transferred.
Do not hide wear. Honest signs of age on the foot rim and small glaze irregularities are dating aids, not flaws. A base that looks factory-new under an old mark is a warning sign in itself.
The Qing reign mark: six characters claiming a period.
The most copied mark in porcelain history is the Chinese imperial reign mark of the Qing dynasty. The standard mark consists of six characters following a fixed pattern: 大清[emperor]年製. The first two characters, 大清 (Da Qing), mean Great Qing dynasty. Then follow the two characters of the emperor’s reign name. The last two, 年製 (Nian Zhi), mean made in the period of. A full Kangxi mark therefore reads 大清康熙年製, in pinyin Da Qing Kangxi Nian Zhi: made in the Kangxi period of the Great Qing dynasty.
The six characters usually appear in two columns of three, read top to bottom and right to left. A shortened four-character variant without the dynasty name also exists. Most marks are painted in cobalt blue under the glaze in regular script (kaishu); from the Qianlong period onwards the angular seal script (zhuanshu) became popular as well.
Four reigns are the key anchors for dating: Kangxi ruled from 1662 to 1722, Yongzheng from 1723 to 1735, Qianlong from 1736 to 1795, and Guangxu from 1875 to 1908, a late period in which enormous quantities of porcelain carried marks of earlier emperors. Judging a reign mark means weighing three things at once: the text, the calligraphy, and whether glaze, paste and decoration fit the claimed period.
Why a Kangxi mark is usually not Kangxi porcelain.
In the Chinese tradition, applying the mark of an earlier, admired emperor was homage rather than fraud. Kangxi-period potters used Chenghua marks on a large scale, and during the Guangxu period (1875-1908) countless pieces received Kangxi and Qianlong marks. Such marks are called apocryphal: the text refers to an earlier period than the production date. Hence the sober rule among connoisseurs: the mark alone can never settle the dating.
Porcelain made after 1949 is known as People’s Republic porcelain. It often carries classical reign marks alongside new mark types: Jingdezhen stamps, the export inscription Made in China, and factory marks of state workshops. It has become a collecting field of its own, but it is also regularly offered as older work. English-language inscriptions are a hard signal: a piece marked Made in China is by definition twentieth century or later.
Beyond calligraphy and context, the application technique is decisive. A painted mark shows fluent brushstrokes under magnification; a printed transfer shows an even, often slightly rasterised surface and identical repetition from piece to piece. CeramCheck is trained on exactly these contradictions: it does not just read the text, it tests whether mark and object tell the same period.
Meissen, Sèvres, Delft and Limoges: four families of marks.
Meissen, the first European porcelain factory, introduced the famous crossed swords in 1722, hand-painted in underglaze blue. Their shape changed over the centuries, with dots, stars and dashes marking specific periods, which makes the swords datable but also the most imitated European mark. The rule is the same as for Chinese porcelain: the mark opens the investigation, the quality of paste, glaze and painting must confirm it.
Sèvres, the French royal manufactory, marked with two interlaced L’s, the monogram of Louis XV, with a date letter between them. Painters and gilders added their own signs. Sèvres marks were imitated on an industrial scale in the nineteenth century, often on pieces decorated far more heavily than the originals ever were.
Delftware, strictly tin-glazed earthenware rather than porcelain, has its own landscape of workshop marks from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, while most Delft blue in circulation today is twentieth-century decorative ware with modern factory marks. Limoges, finally, is a French porcelain city rather than a factory: pieces often carry both a whiteware mark reading Limoges France and a separate decorator mark, with names such as Haviland using dozens of mark variants over time.
The sources CeramCheck tests marks against.
Serious mark identification rests on reference works that document factory and decorator marks systematically. CeramCheck tests photographed marks against external authorities such as the Kovels factory marks database, MarcaPedia and the Online Encyclopedia of Ceramic Marks, so that variants and transitional forms missing from any single reference can still be found.
Identification is half the work, valuation the other half. AntiqBot looks at what comparable pieces actually fetch at auction: results from Catawiki, Christie’s, Sotheby’s, Bonhams, Drouot and Belgian houses such as Bernaerts and Veilinghuis AAG. Only realised auction prices show what a mark, combined with a specific object, is worth today.
And sometimes the honest conclusion is: this cannot be decided from a photo. For top pieces the report says so explicitly, and we recommend physical examination by a specialised auction house or certified appraiser.
What a correct mark does to the value.
The difference between a period mark and a later mark can be the difference between a decorative plate and an auction piece. An object whose mark, paste, glaze and decoration consistently point to the same early period plays in a different price category than the same model with an apocryphal nineteenth-century mark. The order of investigation is always the same: authenticity and dating first, value second.
For anyone buying at flea markets or auctions, a quick mark analysis is above all a decision tool: within two minutes you know whether the mark fits the object, which period the piece most likely belongs to, and what comparable pieces recently fetched.
Questions about porcelain marks.
How do I recognise a genuine Chinese reign mark?
A Qing reign mark has six characters following the pattern 大清[emperor]年製: dynasty, reign name, and the closing formula made in the period of. Read top to bottom, right to left. The text alone proves nothing: also judge the calligraphy, the cobalt blue, and whether glaze, paste and decoration fit the claimed period.
What does Da Qing Kangxi Nian Zhi mean?
It is the pinyin reading of 大清康熙年製: made in the Kangxi period of the Great Qing dynasty. Kangxi ruled from 1662 to 1722. The same formula exists for Yongzheng (1723-1735), Qianlong (1736-1795) and Guangxu (1875-1908).
My vase has a Qianlong mark. Is it eighteenth century?
Not necessarily, and statistically probably not. Qianlong marks were applied to new porcelain on a massive scale in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Whether the mark is apocryphal follows from its execution and from the object itself. Upload photos of mark, object and foot rim and CeramCheck gives you a substantiated first assessment.
What is People’s Republic porcelain?
The collective name for Chinese porcelain made after 1949. It sometimes carries classical reign marks, sometimes Jingdezhen or state factory stamps, and on export ware the inscription Made in China. It is a collecting field in its own right, but is regularly offered as older work.
How do I recognise genuine Meissen crossed swords?
The Meissen swords, in use since 1722, are hand-painted in underglaze blue and change subtly per period. Countless other factories used confusingly similar marks. Judge the porcelain itself as well: Meissen is hard, fine and pure white, with consistently high-quality painting.
What does Limoges France mean on porcelain?
That the white porcelain was made in the French city of Limoges, nothing more. Maker, period and value require looking up the specific factory and decorator marks in references such as Kovels or the Online Encyclopedia of Ceramic Marks, and judging the decoration.
What does a mark analysis via AntiqBot cost?
Your first analysis is free: registration includes one free credit. After that you buy credits per pack: 5 for €4.99, 10 for €8.99, 25 for €17.99 or 50 for €29.99, which comes down to €0.60 to €1.00 per analysis. No subscription.
Does CeramCheck replace a physical expertise?
No. CeramCheck is a first filter and a second opinion. For pieces where the analysis indicates high potential value, we always recommend physical examination by a specialised auction house or certified appraiser, and the report says so honestly.
Go deeper into porcelain and marks.
These guides and module pages connect directly to reading porcelain marks.
- CeramCheck: analysing porcelain and European ceramics
The CeramCheck module page: what the ceramics module assesses, from Meissen to Wedgwood, and how to start an analysis.
- Chinese porcelain appraisal
The specialised module for Chinese porcelain: dynasties, reign marks, glaze and decoration.
- Blog: Chinese porcelain marks identification guide
An extensive blog article with examples of reign marks, reading order and common pitfalls.
- Recognising and valuing Delft blue
Historic Delftware, twentieth-century decorative ware or imitation: how to place a piece of Delft blue.
- Porcelain appraisal by photo
From mark to market value: how a full porcelain appraisal at AntiqBot works.
Have your mark analysed.
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AntiqBot analyses are indicative and do not constitute a legally binding appraisal report. For insurance, inheritance or sales above €1,000 we recommend physical examination by a certified appraiser or specialised auction house.