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This plate of mine is 7" in diameter and is quite heavy for its size. It is enamels on celadon ground. Is it Chinese, and why is there a fret-type mark (similar to 19th English pseudo-asian marks) on it, and what is the approximate date of manufacture? Thanks, Wendy

Trying the pix again.

I've seen a few such marks on other green wares, not all of them true celadons. Whereas most export porcelain wasn't marked, this type of pseudo mark was employed by some factories or workshops to identify export products.

The pseudo marks I've seen before were on porcelains that apparently were contemporaneous with unmarked dishes in similar patterns but probably by different makers. Since your dish is in a Rose Canton pattern often dated around the 2nd to 4th quarters of the 19th century, I'd speculate it probably was made about that time.

Gerald Davison's 'The New and Revised Mandbook of Marks on Chinese Ceramics' has an undated example of this type mark illustrated as No. 3343 on page 239.

Best regards,

Bill H.

Hi Wendy,

Yes, Chinese indeed. Only looking at the (rather small) picture of the front I could only say 19th century but the looks of the footrim makes me think of mid 19th. ct/Daoguang period. I cant tell you anything about the/a meaning of the mark. Maybe Bill H. can.

Regards,

Arjan

Many thanks to you both, Bill H. and Arjan. I will henceforth not call this a "nonsense" mark as it obviously had some meaning which has since bcome unknown. What had me fooled was that it looked so much like earlier British imitation Chinese marks on their own wares. I am pleased to learn that this little plate is mostly likely 19th c. and not 20th c.

I also need to thank the board moderator for helping me post my photos.

Wendy

Just "for the records" I like to correct myself. I wrote "mid 19th. ct/Daoguang" while I meant: mid 19th. ct/ Tongzhi of course.

Arjan

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