Meissen – Daryle Lambert's Antiques and Collectibles Blog – Or is it?

Is it or is it Not Meissen

Today I was confronted with the unpleasant duty of informing a gentleman that the beautiful clock that he had inherited from his mother wasn't Meissen, as he had been told all his life. This isn't a rare occurrence and happens more than you would think. However, there are ways to confirm the identity of almost everything you run across if you know where to look.

In the case of Meissen, there is a very good book called The Book of Meissen by Robert E. Rontgen, that not only details all the Meissen marks but others that resemble Meissen and many outright fakes as well. In the case of the clock, I was able to share with the gentleman that the manufacturer of his clock was a company called Voigt. Now it will be up to us to find the true value of the clock. In all honesty, I don't believe that the value will be as high as if it were Meissen, however, due to its size (20”) and detail, the value should be substantial.

The Kovels’ New Dictionary of Marks is a great resource that all my readers should own, but it is only a starting point for your research on identifying a treasure, Be sure that, as your success grows, you invest in books on individual companies where there is far more information than in a general guide.

The suggestion that I have just shared with you has allowed me to identify items that have been incorrectly identified by auction house, house sellers and even shop owners. Often by being able to correctly identify an item, it has meant that I have purchased a true treasure for a very small cost. To give you just one example, I purchased a silver teapot that was marked as being made by a company in the 1920's, however, by doing my home work, I found it was from the early 1700's. Do you think by any chance this proved a very very profitable transaction for me? If your answer is yes you would be correct.

Even companies like Rookwood Pottery had many marks besides the one that almost everyone recognizes, the reverse R's and the flames. By owning , you will have all the company’s marks at hand. You could get lucky and find a vase with a great deal of value, just because you could recognize the more obscure Rookwood marks.

I could give you many more examples of what I'm talking about but I think you get the picture. Remember, knowledge is king in this business. Don’t neglect reference books. If you don’t own some of them, you will miss out on many treasures, I promise. None of us can keep all that we learn in our head.

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