Art & Architecture Collection > Identifying Objects

Pottery and Porcelain


Plate  5, Couch from
Penhurst Pace, Kent 
from Specimens of
Ancient Furniture drawn
from existing authorities
 by Henry Shaw, with
descriptions by Sir Samuel Rush Meyrick 
London: William Pickering , 1836. 
(3-MOF+)
Photographic Services & Permissions

Savage, George & Harold Newman. An Illustrated Dictionary of Ceramics. London: Thames and Hudson, 1985. (*R-Art 88-3197 Front)
Alphabetical listing of 3054 terms on wares, materials, processes, styles, patterns and shapes from antiquity to the present day. Many black and white illustrations.

Boger, Louise A. The Dictionary of World Pottery and Porcelain. New York: Scribner's, 1971. (MPC Front)
Alphabetical listing of terms, makers, firms, processes, forms and styles. Large section of photographs of works by time period and geographic region with descriptive entries. Bibliography, pp. 525-533.

Fournier, Robert. Illustrated Dictionary of Pottery Decoration. New York: Prentice-Hall, 1986. (MPC 87-336 Open)
Extensive survey of techniques used to ornament or enhance clay forms, their history and development. Shows wide scope of styles through numerous black and white illustrations, arranged in alphabetical order.

Handbook of Pottery and Porcelain Marks. Comp. by J.P. Cushion. London: Faber & Faber, 1996. ( MPK 98-7533 Front)
Covers a multitude of countries in Europe, from Austria to Switzerland. Also includes China and Japan. Covers Estonia, Poland, and Russia. Also the Scandinavian countries. Extensive index in the back.

Danckert, Ludwig. Handbuch des Europaischen Porzellans. Munich: Prestel Verlag, 1954. (MPK Front)
Alphabetical entries with many marks reproduced when known. Catalog of marks in back. Section listing artists of Sevres porcelain and their marks.

Haggar, Reginald G. Concise Encyclopedia of Continental Pottery and Porcelain. London: Andre Deutsch, 1960. (MPG Front)
Alphabetical list of terms and makers, with marks and profuse illustrations, many in color.

Rontgen, Robert E. Marks on German, Bohemian and Austrian Porcelain, 1710 to the Present. Exton: Schiffer Publ. Co., 1981. (MPK 89-21208)
Specific coverage - Part 1 is register of marks, Part 2 is manufacturers according to location, Part 3 marks that could be mistaken for those of other manufacturers, index of names in back.

Mankowitz, Wolf and Reginald Haggar. The Concise Encyclopedia of English Pottery & Porcelain. New York: Hawthorn, (1957). (MPGO Front)
Alphabetical entries on makers, firms, manufacturers, processes. Many illustrations and marks given when known-very exhaustive coverage. Useful appendices on engravers, books, museums, and British potters on foreign soil.

Godden, Geoffrey. Encyclopedia of British Pottery and Porcelain Marks. London: Herbert Jenkins, 1964. (MPGO Front)
Alphabetical listings of potteries or firms, short biographical data, dates if known, cross-references and reproduced marks if known.

Godden, Geoffrey. Encyclopedia of British Porcelain Manufacturers. London: Barrie and Jenkins, 1988. (MPGO 89-24665 Front)
Guide to makers' marks and pattern numbers. Checklist of manufacturers 1740-1840, alphabetical list of British product lines. A list identifies initials. Bibliography, pp. 831-8. Good illustrations.

DeBolt, C. Gerald. The Dictionary of American Pottery Marks: Whiteware and Porcelain. Rutland; Tokyo: Charles E. Tuttle, 1988. (*R-ART 90-10561)
Guide to identifying early American whiteware and its marks. Lists principal American marks alphabetically, with dates provided when known; also treats miscellaneous American marks, British Coats of Arms, hard to identify American, British and banner marks.

Clark, Garth. American Ceramics 1876 to the Present. New York: Abbeville Press, 1987. (MPH + 88-4383 Open) Magnificently illustrated survey decade by decade, contains chronologies, selected exhibitions, biographies, bibliography on pp. 325 -341.

Kovel, Ralph and Terry. Kovels' Dictionary of Marks: Pottery and Porcelain. New York: Crown, 1995. (MPK 96-1753 Front)
Lists of marks. Vocabulary of marks, dating systems used by specific factories; Pottery & Porcelain "Family Trees"; Fakes & Forgeries. Covers U.S. and Western Europe, specifically U.K., Germany and France.

Haslam, Malcolm. Marks and Monograms of the Modern Movement 1875-1930. New York: Scribners', 1977. (MAO 78-197 Front)
Subtitle: "A Guide to the marks of Artists, Designers, Retailers and Manufacturers from the period of the Aesthetic Movement to Art Deco and Style Moderne." Grouped in sections for ceramics, glass, metalwork and jewelry, graphics, furniture and textiles. Covers U.K., U.S., France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Italy and Scandinavia.

Davison, Gerald. The Handbook of Marks on Chinese Ceramics. London: Han- Shan Tang Books, 1994. (MPFF 95-5213 Front)
Lists marks in various scripts, from imperial to multiple-character marks. Lists potters by name.

Karmason, Marilyn G. and Joan Stacke. Majolica: A Complete History and Illustrated Survey. New York: Abrams, 1989. (MPC 90-887 Open)
Survey work treating history and development of 19th century earthenware based on Italian Renaissance Majolica. Sections for British firms Minton and Wedgwood, American majolica, continental potteries, clays and glazed. Also includes section on collecting majolica in museums.

Subject Heading

  • PORCELAIN
  • PORCELAIN -- 16TH CENTURY
  • PORCELAIN, AMERICAN; POTTERY
  • POTTERY -- MARKS
  • POTTERY, JAPANESE
  • POTTERY AS AN INVESTMENT
  • TABLE SETTING AND DECORATION