Posted 12 years ago
mikelv85
(1232 items)
I found this nice little hand painted Delft style vase. It's 7" tall and 6 " across in the middle. It has a mark and numbers on the bottom, but I'll be darn if I can figure it out or even what the word in the "Swan" mark is suppose to be. The first letter is a mystery. the K E A is clear but the last letter is also hard to figure out. Anybody know this mark or factory ? Thanks -Mike-
Some history,
Gzhel is a style of ceramics which takes its name from the village of Gzhel Russia and surrounding areas, where it has been produced since 1802.
In the 1830s, the Gzhel potters developed a faience, or white earthenware, of a quality that rivaled the creamware being produced in England at the time. They followed the development of faience with the acquisition of porcelain. Porcelain is fired to a similar temperature as stoneware, but unlike stoneware it becomes a translucent white and as such is highly desirable. The making of porcelain had been a secret heavily guarded by China with only finished products being exported. When Russia was able to produce their own porcelain, it undercut the high cost of imports from China or Western European producers. Although there have been several periods of disruption in pottery production at Gzhel, quality pottery is once again being produced in both the recognizable blue on white design as well as the more colorful Maiolica ware.
Thanks Bellin. I've got a few other things today to put on as well.
Maybe it's Russian?
You know, that did cross my mind. Does look a bit like Russian "cyrillic "on the mark. Thanks Mary !
Can't pin down the exact date but yes it is definitely Russian "Gzhel" pottery or porcelain. It's unglazed on the bottom so I'm not sure if it's porcelain. A lot of pieces are marked USSR and handpainted but this isn't. Maybe that's a clue to it's age. -Mike-
According to marks4antiques, this mark was used during the 1950-60's. How did you find the maker's name?
Hi Mary,
Well ,once I figured out for sure it was Russian I just image searched which took me to Ebay. There was a trinket box for auction that had the same mark but it also said made in the USSR on it. Some do some don't along with the artist name and saying it was hand painted. Mine just had the swan mark and a number nothing else. I'm glad you subscribe to marks4antiques. Thanks so much for looking for me. -Mike-
I'm glad I do too. I thought I paid for 1 yr for 100, but that was in jan 2012, so has been well worth it. But it's not perfect as they didn't have this mark under the "non Latin" marks, just under the name.
I use it a lot myself. Strangely enough when I was helping another CW member find a Russian teapot mark, I came across a Russian website that had tons if makers marks for free. Only problem was that the section title sections/ searches were in Cyrillic , but still managable
Mary is our hero with her access to marks site. Hope we tell you enough how much we appreciate you!!!
Agreed , Three cheers for Mary ! Hip Hip Hooray !