How Do You Identify Limoges China Patterns?
To identify Limoges china patterns, search for marks beneath and on the glaze; the country of origin; factory marks such as AE, GDA and H & CO/L; as well as tiny prints and pictograms on the item. Also, observe any family names and the colors used to mark them.
Marks beneath the glaze of the item are found on the whiteware and were placed before glazing or painting the item. Such marks tend to be clearer than the marks placed on the glaze. The latter were stamped by the retailers, importers and the decorators who put their names on the items’ bottoms.
If France is mentioned as the country of origin, this indicates that the Limoges piece was made and exported after 1891. Use a magnifying glass to identify the tiny prints and pictographs, such as a star around the word Limoges printed in a circle shape and the word France as the underscore and a crown with a royal cipher.
The factory mark AE indicates that the piece was made by Allund factory between 1797 and 1868. CHF/GDM, CHF and CH Field Haviland Limoges marks show that the piece was made by an Allund factory owned by Haviland between 1868 and 1898. Post 1898, Limoges chinaware have one of the following factory marks: GDA; H & CO/L; H & CO/Depose; Porcelaine, Haviland & Co. Limoges; and Theodore Haviland, Limoges, France.
Presence of a family name shows that the Limoges piece was made by factories run by families or small artisans. Examples of such names include Elite France, M. Redon, C. Ahrenfeldt and A. Lanternier. Elite Works marked its name in red between 1900 and 1914 and used green between 1920 and 1932.
