Identifying porcelain & ceramics.
Base marks, glaze, style, based on professional expertise.
Porcelain tells its own story.
A base mark, a glaze quality, a specific cobalt blue used only in certain centuries, porcelain carries its complete identity in details that only a trained eye genuinely recognises. From Chinese Imperial porcelain (Ming blue-and-white, Qing famille rose and famille verte) to European Meissen (with the famous crossed swords mark), Sèvres (French porcelain for royal courts), Delftware majolica (the Dutch answer to Asian porcelain), and Belgian faïence (mass-produced in Nimy and Boch). Porcelain identification requires knowledge of glaze types (hard-paste versus soft-paste porcelain), decoration techniques (underglaze cobalt blue, overglaze painting, gilding and enameling), and production methods (wheel-thrown, mould-formed, hand-painted). Market value can vary by a factor of 50-500 based on these details alone. A Kangxi blue-and-white bowl can range from €500 (late Qing copy) to €50,000 (authentic Imperial piece), same visual category, vast price difference. Meissen porcelain from the 1720-1750 period with crossed swords and hand-painted famille rose decoration can reach €2,000-€15,000. The identical style from 1900-1920 (late reproduction) brings only €300-€1,500. The difference lies entirely in proof of authenticity, glaze brilliance, precise composition of colour pigments, hand-painted characteristics, and wear patterns that only genuine age creates.
AntiqBot is built on decades of hands-on specialisation in Chinese porcelain and European ceramics. The system recognises base marks (including fakes), glaze characteristics (colour nuance, craquelure patterns, glossiness), decoration styles (underglaze cobalt, overglaze famille rose, gilding techniques), and production methods. For Chinese porcelain: reign marks (6-character Kangxi, Yongzheng, Qianlong), clay composition (porous versus dense), glaze character (matte or brilliant), and fracture patterns (hard porcelain breaks clean, soft porcelain more granular). For European porcelain: maker marks (Meissen crossed swords, Sèvres crown), paste types (Meissen is bright and refined, KPM Berlin more geometric-neoclassical). Distinguishing authentic Kangxi blue-and-white from later 18th-century Chinese imitations is critical: authentic Imperial Kangxi commands €5,000-€50,000, a later 18th-century imitation only €500-€2,000. The marks alone are not enough, glaze quality and decorative precision reveal the true story. Meissen factories began porcelain production around 1710, a revolution in Europe where porcelain had previously come exclusively from Asia (extremely expensive, extremely rare). Meissen's crossed swords became the official mark in 1725 and was immediately counterfeited. Sèvres (French royal porcelain, founded 1756) used a crossed swords-crown mark and developed the famous bleu de roi (deep royal blue) and soft-paste porcelain recipe that was fundamentally different from Meissen's hard-paste formula. Delftware majolica (17th-18th century Dutch faïence) was actually earthenware with tin glaze, not true porcelain, yet highly valued by collectors for its distinctive blue-and-white decoration and role in Dutch artistic heritage.
Analysing porcelain is like learning a dialect, every country, every atelier, every era has its own vocabulary in colour, form and mark.
From Ming dynasty marks (sometimes authentic, sometimes fake, the system learns both patterns) to 18th-century factory stamps (Meissen, Sèvres, Chinese Export marks) to 20th-century manufacturing (Rosenthal, Noritake), AntiqBot recognises the visual and physical characteristics. It is not about the name or mark alone: a plate with a Meissen crossed-swords mark can be authentic 18th-century Meissen (highly valuable), 19th-century imitation (much lower value), or 20th-century reproduction (basic commercial ware). The system learns the difference from glaze cracks, glaze quality, decorative refinement, and colour nuance that only centuries of production experience reveal. Authentic 18th-century Meissen porcelain exhibits distinctive gloss variation in the glaze layer, it possesses a full, deep brilliance that paste-reproduction pieces never achieve. The underglaze cobalt in genuine 18th-century pieces spreads beneath the glaze in a very specific manner that reveals hand-painted work. Moreover, authentic antique pieces show under microscopic examination tiny air bubbles trapped in the glaze, modern reproduction glazes lack these characteristic markers. For collectors, AntiqBot's analysis of these details is crucial: the difference between an original Meissen plate (€3,000-€8,000) and a 19th-century reproduction (€300-€800) is not subtle, it is economically substantial. Expertise extends to recognition of paste composition: hard-paste porcelain (Meissen, Sèvres hard-paste) fractures cleanly and acutely, while soft-paste porcelain (English porcelain, Chelsea, Sèvres soft-paste) breaks more granularly. A fracture edge examined under magnification reveals clues about age and origin. Old Chinese porcelain often shows natural micro-crazing in the glaze, a sign of extreme age. This distinction from modern pieces is unmistakable to trained eyes. The colour palette too: authentic famille rose from the Qianlong period used specific pigments (iron oxides, cobalt) that spread beneath glaze in a unique way. Modern reproductions employ chemically distinct pigments that react differently under UV light. This is why AntiqBot trains on micro-detail, not merely image recognition, but the microscopic characteristics only genuine expertise can distinguish.
What AntiqBot recognises.
AntiqBot has specialist knowledge of the following porcelain and ceramics traditions:
Base mark is key.
The base mark is the most important element for porcelain identification. Photograph it as sharply as possible. Use a magnifying glass if needed and take a close-up photograph.
Also photograph the decoration (a plate photographed at an angle shows glaze thickness), the form and any gilding. Cracks or chips in the glaze are relevant for valuation.
Porcelain and ceramics authenticity.
How do I read a base mark on porcelain?
The base mark is the most important starting point, but never the whole story. Check the technique first: an underglaze mark sits below the glaze and cannot be rubbed away, while an overglaze mark sits on top and wears visibly. Then look at the execution: hand-painted or stamped marks from the 18th and 19th centuries show small irregularities, whereas modern transfer or printed marks are perfectly sharp and uniform. Compare the shape of the mark against published references, for example the Kovels marks guides or verified lot descriptions at Christie's and Bonhams. A correct mark on the wrong body or glaze is a classic sign of later imitation. AntiqBot reads the mark together with glaze, clay and decoration, so the mark is judged in its full context.
What do Chinese reign marks mean and how do I recognise them?
A classic Chinese reign mark, a nianhao, consists of six characters read top to bottom and right to left, in the form 大清[emperor]年製, meaning "made in the reign of emperor [name] of the Great Qing". A four-character variant also occurs. Importantly, a reign mark is not proof of age. Many later pieces from the 19th and 20th centuries carry an earlier Kangxi, Yongzheng or Qianlong mark as a respectful tribute without dating from that period. Dating comes from the combination of glaze, cobalt tone, form and brushwork, not from the mark alone. AntiqBot reads the characters and weighs them against those physical traits, so a tribute mark is not mistaken for a genuine period piece.
How do I recognise real Meissen by the crossed swords?
Meissen introduced the crossed swords as its factory mark in 1725, painted in underglaze cobalt blue, and it was copied almost immediately by other workshops. Genuine 18th-century swords are hand-painted and show slight variation in line thickness and angle; later imitations are often too regular or, conversely, too crude. Watch for detail codes too: pommel dots, a star or a dot beneath the swords, and cancellation strokes through the swords that mark a factory second. The mark must agree with the body: true Meissen hard-paste porcelain has a deep, full glaze brilliance and fine hand-painting. Compare suspect pieces against auctioned references at Christie's or Bonhams. AntiqBot assesses the swords together with glaze and decoration rather than trusting the mark alone.
What is the difference between hard-paste, soft-paste and Delftware?
Hard-paste porcelain (including Meissen and Sèvres hard-paste) is fired at very high temperature, is hard and translucent, and breaks with a clean, sharp edge. Soft-paste porcelain (including early Sèvres, Chelsea and much English porcelain) fires at a lower temperature, is slightly softer and breaks more granularly. Delftware is something else entirely: it is not true porcelain but earthenware with an opaque tin glaze, recognisable by the cream or buff body visible where the glaze has chipped. A fracture edge or a chip under magnification often reveals immediately which family a piece belongs to. AntiqBot weighs glaze, translucency and fracture characteristics to separate porcelain from faience and stoneware.
How can I tell whether my piece is a later reproduction?
Reproductions rarely betray themselves through the mark and almost always through the body. Look at crazing, the fine network of hairline cracks in old glaze, which is natural and irregular in genuinely old pieces and looks too even in artificial ageing. Underglaze cobalt from the 18th century flows softly beneath the glaze; modern transfer decoration sits sharp and flat on the surface. Gilding that is too bright and too uniform often points to recent work. Compare form, weight and decoration against published auction results at Christie's, Bonhams or Catawiki and against the Kovels references. AntiqBot assesses these physical signals together, because a single detail is never enough for a reliable verdict.
Other specialisations
AntiqBot analyses are indicative in nature. For formal valuation or insurance purposes we recommend a certified expert.