By becoming familiar with the dozen or so main variations of the Wedgwood mark and by knowing when each was in use, a collector can determine an approximate period of production of an object. A guide to trademarks is listed here and by careful study most collectors can acquire a reasonably sound knowledge. Determining the specific year of production of an item is somewhat more complicated, and this calls for close examination of a variety of other marks, such as three-letter date marks, registration marks, artists signatures or monograms and other devices. In addition to these, the style and method of production should be kept in mind as giving clues to dating. Dating Wedgwood can sometime be very difficult as apart from the Trademark there are also in some cases letters that accompany the marks to give a more accurate manufacture date and most old pieces have this second mark. To better date a particular piece collectors will often also refer to this marking.
This mark, with the word Etruria, was fixed in the corner, inside the plinth of old basalt vases. This circular stamp, with an inner and outer line, was always placed around the screw of the basalt, granite and Etruscan vases, but is never found on Jr vases, Rare Wedgwood and Bentley mark found only on chocolate and white seal intaglios, usually portraits made of two layers of clay with the edges polished for mounting, - Very rare Wedgwood and Sons mark used for a short period in Mark of Josiah Wedgwood II.
Supposedly a new partnership or change in the firm. It may be the date when the design was first registered, Sometimes 2 nd Feby appears instead of Feb 2 The mark upon Wedgwood bone china or porcelain, made toalways printed either in red, blue or in gold. From to the present day this mark has been impressed in the clay on Queens Ware, or printed in colour.
Jul 14, Wedgwood is a line of porcelain and pottery produced by Josiah Wedgwood from about until his death in , and by his heirs thereafter. Although Josiah was the first prominent pottery maker to endorse each piece with a mark bearing his own name, knowing how to date Wedgwood is . Dating old pottery is difficult - especially one that has been in operation for over years such as Wedgwood. Manufacturers were not overly concerned about sticking to 'rules' and would interchange marks - using different marks at the same time and using old batches later in the production runs. Wedgwood Marks An illustrated list of Wedgwood Marks presented in chronological order. An easy to use chronological list of Wedgwood marks to help the Wedgwood collector, who is faced with many imitators, to date genuine Wedgwood antiques. Fortunately for the collector, Josiah Wedgwood was the first potter of note to mark his goods with his own.
In recent times the words Etruria and Barlaston and the name of the pattern have in many cases been printed in addition to the trade mark. Fromornamental Jr, Black Basalt, cane, terra cotta and Queens Ware are always marked with this stamp. The word England was added in These Wedgwood Etruria marks are rarely found on pieces of a very high character.
The marking that really tells the tale though is the "" Like many potteries, Wedgwood used a date code system on its pieces, the one used on urn this was introduced circa , using the last two digits of the year the piece was made. For example, a "32" would stand for Wedgwood is a line of porcelain and pottery produced by Josiah Wedgwood from about until his death in , and by his heirs thereafter. Although Josiah was the first prominent pottery maker to endorse each piece with a mark bearing his own name, knowing how to date Wedgwood . Apr 21, Unlike most old English potters, Josiah Wedgwood marked the majority of his products and Wedgwood Identification and Dating marks are something for which the collector should always look. These trademarks, which always contain the work Wedgwood, have differed for various reasons throughout the company's history.
Adopted about but used for only a short period. This mark, used on Wedgwood bone china, was adopted in when the manufacture of bone china was revived.
It is printed in various colors. Mark used today on bone china, developed from mark of These marks are most commonly found on specific product lines, such as jrware, that date between and It should also be noted that this was the time when fake marks began appearing, which can be identified by the ability to mar them with a sharp object fairly easily.
This mark is considered particularly rare. Look for numbers.
Josiah Wedgwood, The Genius
If you see this kind of mark, the piece predates These marks date Wedgwood pieces to the years between and Look for letters. The Wedgwood family began using a 3-letter code to indicate the month in which the piece was made, the potter that made it and the year of manufacture, in that order.
If the last letter of the code is a zero, the piece was made inthe first year this method of identification was put into place. However, it may take an expert to date Wedgwood of this era since some of the number series were repeated several times, making it difficult to ascertain the precise year the piece was made.
Know how to date Wedgwood that is more recent.
The sans serif font was adopted inand machine printed marks began appearing on bone china in Karyn Maier is a seasoned columnist and feature writer.