How Do You Identify Crown Marks on Fine China?
Identify crown marks on fine china by looking at the bottom of the piece for the maker’s mark containing a crown icon. The crown mark is either detailed or a basic design, the latter as seen in Capodimonte porcelain made in the Royal Factory in Italy during the late 1700s.
Crown marks differ depending on the manufacturer, date and country of origin. For instance, while the crown mark used by Sitzendorf Porcelain Manufactory from Germany in the early 1900s has only a simple design, the Staffordshire mark produced in England throughout the 19th and 20th centuries has more detail.
Crown marks most usually identify fine china of English origin. English china also often contains royal symbols, lions, or a lion and unicorn icon. Staffordshire fine china uses marks that have a crown followed by a stylized symbol with the name of the company below. Usually the word crown appears above the crown icon. Tuscan fine English bone china uses a crown mark attached to two wings. Johnson Bros. English Chippendale from Staffordshire, England, uses a detailed, red crown icon on its china since the early 1900s.
Sometimes fine china companies from other countries use crown in their marks such as Crown Potteries Company from Indiana or the L.R.L factory in Limoges, France.
