German Porcelain Identification · Bavaria · Marks · Patterns · Tableware Seltmann Weiden Porcelain: Marks, Bavaria, Dating, Patterns & Value Guide Last Updated: September 30, 2026  |  The Old Antiquarian Quick Answer Seltmann Weiden is a German porcelain manufacturer founded in Weiden, Bavaria, in 1910. Collectors encounter a long sequence of factory backstamps including early C.S. WEIDEN marks, crowned-S Seltmann Weiden marks, pre-war variants, U.S. Zone wording from the immediate post-war period, Bavaria, W. Germany, Germany and modern Made in Germany marks. “Bavaria” identifies the geographic region of manufacture—it is not a pattern name and not a separate maker. Reliable dating requires the exact mark, country wording, pattern or line…

German Porcelain Identification & Collector Guide Last Updated: September 29, 2026  |  The Old Antiquarian Quick Answer Frankenthal was an important German hard-paste porcelain manufactory established in 1755 in the Electoral Palatinate by Paul Anton Hannong with the permission of Elector Carl Theodor. The factory became celebrated for refined Rococo figurines, allegorical and mythological groups, tableware and richly painted services. After Carl Theodor acquired the manufactory in 1762, the crowned CT monogram became its best-known factory mark. Production declined after the French Revolutionary occupation in 1794, effectively ceased in 1799, and the historic manufactory was officially closed in 1800. A Frankenthal mark alone does not prove authenticity, an exact date…

German Porcelain & Figurine Identification Guide Last Updated: September 29, 2026  |  The Old Antiquarian Quick Answer Goebel is a historic German manufacturer founded in 1871 by Franz Detleff and William Goebel. Its first porcelain factory opened in 1878 at Oeslau-Rödental, and around 1905 the crown over the intertwined WG monogram became an important factory identity. Collectors encounter Goebel birds, animals, character figurines, artist-designed figures, tableware, vases, boxes and decorative wares as well as the historically famous M.I. Hummel line. However, Goebel and Hummel are not synonymous. A Goebel mark identifies the manufacturer or factory tradition; it does not automatically make an object a Hummel. Reliable Goebel identification combines the…

German Porcelain Identification Guide Last Updated: September 29, 2026  |  The Old Antiquarian Quick Answer Wallendorf is a historic Thuringian porcelain manufactory officially founded on March 30, 1764. Collectors encounter early eighteenth-century tableware, nineteenth-century decorative porcelain, Schaubach Kunst figurines, Wallendorf ballerinas, GDR-era production and later factory wares. Its marks changed repeatedly as ownership and political circumstances changed. The most recognisable later trademark is a crowned W above 1764, but the number 1764 refers to the founding year of the manufactory and does not mean that a particular piece was made in the eighteenth century. Reliable identification combines the exact mark with the porcelain body, form, modelling, decoration, model numbers, country…

Fürstenberg Porcelain: Marks, History, Dating, Figurines & Value Guide Last Updated: September 24, 2026  |  The Old Antiquarian Quick Answer Fürstenberg is one of Germany’s oldest porcelain manufactories, founded in 1747 at Fürstenberg an der Weser. In 1753, Duke Carl I ordered the manufactory’s porcelain to be marked with a blue F, establishing the factory symbol that remains central to the brand’s identity. Collectors encounter eighteenth-century figurines, cups, plates, teapots, snuffboxes and decorative vases as well as nineteenth-, twentieth- and twenty-first-century factory production. A Fürstenberg mark alone does not prove an exact date, antique age or market value. Reliable identification combines the exact mark variant with the porcelain body, form,…

Sitzendorf Porcelain: Marks, Figurines, Lace Figures, Dating & Value Guide Last Updated: September 19, 2026  |  The Old Antiquarian Quick Answer Sitzendorf porcelain comes from a historic porcelain-making centre in Thuringia, Germany. The later factory tradition began with Wilhelm Liebmann, who received permission to establish a porcelain manufactory in Sitzendorf in 1850. Collectors especially associate Sitzendorf with finely modelled figurines, elaborate figure groups, applied flowers and delicate porcelain lace. Earlier crossed-line marks and later crowned-S marks can help identify production periods, but a mark alone does not prove exact age, authenticity or market value. Reliable identification requires the complete mark, porcelain body, form, modelling, decoration, model numbers, country wording, condition…

Volkstedt Porcelain: Rudolstadt Marks, Figurines, Dating & Value Guide Last Updated: September 2026  |  By The Old Antiquarian Quick Answer Volkstedt porcelain is part of a historic Thuringian porcelain tradition centred on Volkstedt, now associated with Rudolstadt in Germany. Porcelain production developed there in the eighteenth century, but “Volkstedt” and “Rudolstadt” should not automatically be treated as the name of one factory. Over time, several manufacturers and workshops operated in the area. Correct identification therefore requires the exact mark, manufacturer, porcelain body, form, decoration, model or mould numbers, country wording, condition and documented historical comparison to be considered together. How to identify Volkstedt and Rudolstadt porcelain: begin with the complete…

Italian Porcelain • Naples • Ferdinand IV • Real Fabbrica Ferdinandea Royal Naples Porcelain: Real Fabbrica Ferdinandea Marks, Crowned N, History, Identification & Value Last Updated: September 17, 2026  |  The Old Antiquarian Royal Naples porcelain belongs to one of the most important chapters in the history of Italian porcelain: the royal factory founded under Ferdinand IV in Naples in 1771, known in collector literature as the Royal Porcelain Manufactory, Naples and closely associated with the name Real Fabbrica Ferdinandea. Quick Answer Royal Naples porcelain generally refers to the royal porcelain production established in Naples under Ferdinand IV in 1771 after the earlier Capodimonte factory had closed. The later Naples…

Italian Porcelain • Doccia • Ginori • Richard Ginori • Identification Guide Ginori Porcelain: Doccia & Richard Ginori Marks, History, Dating, Identification & Value Last Updated: September 17, 2026  |  The Old Antiquarian Quick Answer Doccia, Ginori and Richard Ginori are closely connected names in the same long Italian ceramic tradition, but they are not interchangeable in every historical context. Doccia refers to the historic manufactory and locality near Florence; Ginori refers to the founding family and manufactory tradition; and Richard Ginori is the later company identity created after the 1896 merger with Società Ceramica Richard. For collectors, the safest identification method combines the exact mark, porcelain body, form, decoration,…

French Porcelain Identification Guide Old Paris Porcelain (Vieux Paris): History, Marks, Makers, Identification & Value Last Updated: September 17, 2026  |  The Old Antiquarian Quick Answer Old Paris porcelain, also called Vieux Paris, is not the name of one factory. It is a collector and market term for porcelain made and decorated by many Paris-area manufactories, workshops and decorators, especially from the late eighteenth through the nineteenth century. Important names include Dihl et Guérhard, Locré / La Courtille, Clignancourt, Nast, Dagoty, Darte and Jacob Petit. Because many pieces are unmarked, reliable identification combines material, form, decoration, marks where present, manufacturing details, period, condition and documented museum comparisons. COLLECTOR RULE: “Old…