Antique Ceramics, China, Pottery Guide
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Identifying and dating and is performed by studying the painted, stamped or impressed markings on the underside of the antique item. Besides observing the name of the manufacturer such as , and , other things to observe include the mark color, application technique, and certain numbered codes can allow accurate dating. There are also different types of antique pottery depending on the mineral content in the clay, notably , and .

~from 1891 onwards you may find the country name ie England, Germany, France, Italy (though some makers used the word before this date). Terms like "Made in England" indicate something post 1900's on ceramics. The same goes for words like "Bone China"
~registration numbers / RN indicate the item is from 1884 onwards
~trademark terms occurred after the Act of 1862
~limited / LTD was seen post-1861 and most are a fair bit later
~Royal was sometimes used before company names after 1850
~printed or stamped markings on ceramics before 1850 were usually only in blue
~diamond shapes with the letters Rd. in the center indicated the 1842 - 83 period
~hand-written markings often indicate antique pottery prior 1800
~some handmade antique ceramic items are devoid of markings, particularly some US pottery
~there are many exceptions so it is sometimes necessary to research the company to know when an item was actually created.

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