Pottery mark Query - Blue 'R' inside Blue Diamond

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Pottery mark Query - Blue 'R' inside Blue Diamond

by Dune

Pottery mark Query - Blue 'R' inside Blue Diamond

Pottery mark Query - Blue 'R' inside Blue Diamond:- Bisque figurine of two children on a swing. Holes in swing with string.
Additional markings are impressed numbers.

Looks like:

No. 1 (smaller 1) then 5

Underneath that, impressed "C7" or "G7"

Purchased at an estate sale. I've looked everywhere and cannot find this exact marking.

It appears German to me, but I'm no expert.
It meaasures 7 1/2" in length and 4 1/4" in width

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Dune

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Pottery mark Query - Blue 'R' inside Blue Diamond

Hi Dune

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UPDATE
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This is nice, but very possibly modern and not as it appears. Read the comment threads for more information.
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end update (original answer continues unedited....)

Many thanks for submitting, great photos of a fantastic bit of what looks like antique German artwork. Really characterful and very nice, in my view.

In theory, this mark should be one of the more easy ones to look up. The maker has some design quality even if the make might be somewhat less so, the mark itself is not a one of the overused ones like a crown, it has a very clear and simple letter 'R'.

However, despite looking in my books and online, I can't find an obvious maker at the moment. I will keep trying and also hope this gets seen by someone who knows.

Best regards

Peter (Admin)

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.

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Comments for
Pottery mark Query - Blue 'R' inside Blue Diamond

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Printed Blue Diamond with Capital Letter R, impressed "No. 209" and "38"
by: Harpsi4d

I have a 12 inch figurine of a boy dressed in blue, holding a cat that is wearing a kerchief and is wrapped in swaddling clothes. The clothing style is from a different period than the clothing in the photo above. The boy is offering the cat a sausage, and he is sitting on a tree stump. The painting on my figurine seems a bit more delicate than that in the photo, and it's very crisp. The finish on my figurine is less glossy and, for want of a better description, more "bisque-like." The markings are VERY similar to those in the photos above. They are:

A blue diamond, with an R inside, in what I think is referred to as "undercoat blue."

Impressed "38"

Impressed "No. 209" (stylized N)

Handwritten, in black ink, "67," the 7 being "crossed," European-style.

I thought it looked as if it might be German, but my relatives were of British/Cornish origin, and "No." for number is an English abbreviation.

I would love to learn more about my piece! :)

Fox with rabbit tree trunk vase / cigarette holder
by: Home Sweet Home

Red Fox lying with small bunny in front of two tree trunks of different heights. Each trunk is a vase type container. There is a small pool type bowl on the right of the trunks. In theory it seems to function as a cigarette holder, match holder, & ashtray. Marked with the same blue diamond r mark. Impressed with No. 284, also 67 . Painted in red orange, browns, greens, etc. in matte finish. I have not found the maker ID.

Smudged Diamond Mark with 'R' - Reminds me of mark on modern Vion & Baury Reproductions
by: Peter (admin)

Interesting......

Just made a connection in my mind.

I smell a rat.

I think this stuff is modern (latter half of 20th century)

We just had a professional appraisal go through to my expert team which I thought looked very much like the bisque style of little known but lovely 19th Century Parisian makers Vion et Baury (blue VB impressed sprig mark).

V & B made nice figurines to our eyes but not quite as nice or as high quality as the person whose studio they took over - a fabulous sculptor named Jean Gille (Jeun) (blue JG impressed sprig mark). Totally fabulous figurines.

Then it's reported in various places online, but not in any books I can find, VB later did a green anchor mark on more mass produced wares.

Then, on 2 threads on this site, people posted very V & B looking figures with a gold anchor mark. To find the threads, use the search box top right.

Now, on close inspection, the painting of the 19th Century V & B is different to the later 'anchor' marked production in that the faces are more nicely detailed than the later production and so are the details of the background rocks and other small details.

The item I sent into the expert recently (a figure which looked identical to the figures purporting to be Vion & Baury with the anchor marks) had a diamond mark which was somewhat similar to this mark above, but so smudged it could not be made out properly. But I think it is the same one. It was a nice figure, don't get me wrong, nicely painted by our eyes, especially when you compare it with mass produced tat we see from mid 20th century onwards. But not as good as real V&B, which, in turn, is not as good as Jean Gille.

The expert was very adamant the figure I sent in was 20th century - post-war 1950's. He didn't commit to a country, but I guess it could have been either Japan or GDR (East Germany).

So, looks like the figures with the anchor mark, some are saying are V & B 19th Century may be nothing of the sort.

SO WATCH OUT IF YOU ARE BUYING!

Get an expert opinion before committing.

See our photos below. Our professional expert was sent the last one by a clinet and said it was painted in the mid to latter part of the 20th Century, and NOT in the 19th century.

In my view this allies the face to the green anchor marked face, and also DUNE'S ORIGINAL PHOTOS at the top of the page.

Therefore Dune's items and all the other poster's items as well as the green anchor mark items, would be all mid to late 20th century pieces, carefully made to look as if they are 19th century.

Does this make them reproductions or clever fakes? It all depends whether or not the intention was to deceive. Samson of Paris made reproductions which are now worth quite a bit - he marked his wares with his own marks. However, he sold his wares to retailers who were known to pull the wool over the eyes of their clients. This makes Samson very grey. This is a grey area.

See photos below....