There is a ton of pottery out on the market, how do you know what’s what?  And how do you read the mark on the bottom of the piece to know what you have in your hands?

Figuring out the mark on pottery is pretty easy.  Here are a few things to keep in mind when you are looking at a mark:

*With artists being hired on by the pottery companies to hand paint some items, the artist would sign their name to the piece as well.  Collectors not only collect certain pottery lines, they also look for a certain artist.  A word of advice on this though—if the piece is not signed by the artist on the bottom, then look at the area that is hand painted.  The artist’s signature will not too far away from it.

*The name of the pattern can be on the bottom as well.  The Frank Beardmore creamer’s pattern is called “A Sussex Homeland,” and the pattern is listed at the top of the mark on this piece.  I have seen the pattern name both incorporated into the mark and standing by itself, so keep an eye out for it.

The marks on pottery are not that hard to decipher, it just takes a minute to figure out how the maker wrote it on the piece.

What kinds of pottery have you found something out by looking at the mark?