Centre piece being held up by two putt with an R and a 'cross' mark

by Matthew Zarb - (R with bent crossed swords)
(Malta )

Centre piece being held up by two putt with an R and a 'cross' mark (R with bent crossed swords):- Hello. I have recently acquired this antique piece and it has markings at the bottom but I can't seem to identify them. When I bought it they said it was Victorian. Can anyone help me identify what it is?

Thanks

Matthew

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Centre piece being held up by two putt with an R and a 'cross' mark (R with bent crossed swords)

The forum Help Elf says:-

Dear Matthew

A warm welcome to you from sunny Malta.

Jolly gosh! What can I say about this piece? That's just about the strongest expletive a Help Elf is allowed to use on these forums!

First.... This figure does not have the signs of quality one would expect to see with sculpting and decoration of something over 100 years old. It has all the signs of something knocked out in the rush for export dollars in post-war Japan (in someone's lunch break). Probably somewhere between 1955 and 1975 in date.

Ok, that's just by looking at it without any thoughts about the R mark with bent crossed swords yet.

Second.... Then we look at the R mark. We are already suspicious, remember?

Then we see this is not a famous mark, but is trying very very hard to look like it is. This is very typical of Far East makers for the mid to late 20th Century.


Third.... then we search around online a bit with some advanced searches and lo & behold, right there in the fake marks section of www.porcelainmarksandmore.com, this mark is shown - along with a few other similar marks in the same vein all trying to look like antique German pottery marks.

Fourth.... I suppose you are not to know, but these types of centerpieces (the originals) are very often made in Germany, so if a dealer was to start to describe this as being 'Victorian' I would worry about the credibility of this person.

FYI, Queen Victoria had no jurisdiction of reign in Germany or Prussia (apart from the fact she was inter-related with their Royalty), so how could something German and definitely not English be described as "Victorian". Right era, wrong country. Mad description. Idiot seller who knows nothing.

Hope this helps. Don't be too despondent, we all have to live and learn. As an Elf, I am 297 years old, so I have an advantage!! ;0)))

For general free advice on how to research your collection, Peter wrote this page:

value of antiques.

H.E.

p.s. The following page is a 'must see' if you are researching fine china - for value and identification:-

Researching the identity and value of antique and vintage fine china.