Determining the Value of China

This is a page about. Whether you have a full set of china or just a few prized pieces, it can be hard to figure out how much it is worth. Often it's worth more to you than in monetary value, but some china can also be very valuable.

Ask a Question Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community or ask a new question.

I see that there is a marking within a square. This mark is oftentimes indicative of Kutani - a style of Japanese porcelain, traditionally supposed to be from Kutani, now a part of Kaga, Ishikawa, in the former Kaga Province. The word Kutani means Nine Valleys and is the name of an area and a village. The two characters that make up the word Kutani consist of the character for "nine", ku and "valley". Kutani characters are sometimes slightly modified in marks. You can find these characters in the mark on your pieces (on right). Remember that the Japanese marks are normally read from right to left and top to bottom. It means that you have Kutani Japanese porcelain pieces.Many Kutani made pieces might have just the artist's as a mark, and no location. The second two characters in your mark mean the name of the artist - Shigeto. I found only Nakamura Shigeto, Ceramic Art Association, Kutani Ware Traditional Craftsman, Ishikawa Prefecture, 1946-Graduated from Komatsu Industrial High School. www.kutani-uwae.jp/ .../ Here you can watch his kutani porcelain: www.google.com/ search?q=%E4%B8%AD%E6%9D%91%E9%87... I saw that Kutani Ware Cup Nakamura Shigeto was sold for $300, but on this cup there is a completely different mark. www.ebay.com/ .../ 383790465116?_ul=BR To be honest, I have not seen such a mark on his porcelain as on your pieces. Maybe he used a different mark earlier. I think that you need to contact a specialist in Kutani porcelain or someone from the Ceramic Art Association https://www.j-ceramics.or.jp

Porcelain marks remain one of the best means we have to identify the pieces. Correctly understood it is like a timestamp and sometimes like a fingerprint of the potter. So let's read the mark of your pieces.

Let us know if you are able to learn more from the Facebook group. Thanks for sharing!

Are the tops hinged? What do the hinges and screws look like if they are.

Are they heavy or light weight? They all appear to be porcelain--would that be accurate?

These look like pieces I used to sell in the 1970s-1980s when they were new and a hot commodity. They were quite popular back then, although the colors that people favored were much brighter and cheerful. The colors on these are dull, which could make them older--again, almost impossible to tell from photos if the colors are truly dull or if the photos are just a tad dark.

While this art form is ancient, I am thinking your pieces are modern reproductions based on the other things you have posted...but as I said in one of my other comments, identifying pieces like this are challenging at best.

If you run your finger over the top/sides, is it rough and uneven? I am thinking these are cloisonné, but it is hard to tell from the photos.

I haven't found anything related on this set, only that they are Chinese. Does anybody know the value, history (age), or anything that looks alike?

I was going to put it into a garage sale, but I think it may be too valuable for that. HAVILAND & CO LIMOGES NAUTICAL ROPESTYLE Thanks in advance!

My great grandma Susan married in 1882. I was told she had this china before she married. It was passed onto me as I share her name. The coffee pot has a small chip in spout. 12 cups, (2 cups each have a tiny tiny chip)11 saucers, 11 breakfast plates, 2 serving plates, creamer, large sugar bowl (for sugar lumps I heard) and a medium saucer/bowl (I believe this is called a slop bowl for tossing cold tea/coffee and dregs before getting fresh brew).

Please help me identify this china. I believe that it may date back to 1857-1920 based on the mark; but I have not been able to match it to a pattern. Thank you in advance!

Answers

March 26, 2021

2

Best Answer

The brand is JHR Hutschenreuther Selb Bavaria. The brand was made between approx. 1814 to 1969. Names for their patterns are almost impossible to pin down (not sure if it is poor record keeping or that they were so fragile that many broke and then when they broke, no one had pieces left to sell that needed named.

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I had a few of these for a client I tried to sell a few years ago. My listing called them JHR Hutschenreuther Selb Bavaria pink tea roses gold trim scallops. I don't remember what she got for them now--but I remember she was disappointed they did not fetch more.

It's been a few years and since the UPSP started having issues with damage, I stopped selling glassware online, so if you are asking to sell, you will need to double box them (wrap each piece in tissue, bubble wrap and its own box and then those boxes in another box with two inches around in both box layers so the pieces do not touch the sides.

If you are asking to sell and want values, you can compare what is current on eBay at the moment (using solds only).

If you are asking to buy replacements, you can search using the criteria I sold mine under--using more or less words.

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Just a hint for searching--The name of the brand is hard to read so you may need to search Bavarian tea rose or even rose. Flippers are lazy people and often list things with barest of minimum of words.

Thanks for sharing!

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March 26, 2021

2

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The mark on your pieces was used from 1857 to 1920. You can see a confirmation of this on this website www.theoldstuff.com/.../37-hutschenreuther-marks
It is difficult to identify this pattern. I looked through all the patterns with photos on replacements.com, but I could not find your pattern. I think your pattern is not represented by a photo. You can read the description of each such pattern without a photo, but there are 239 such patterns on replacements.com. If you want to sell these pieces, then just compare with the price of pieces with a floral pattern, a similar edge and trim (gold) of plates with the same mark. The price of the plate is about $15, the bowl $30, the cup $15-20 www.ebay.com/.../174215316123?mkevt=1&mkcid=1&mkrid... www.ebay.com/.../293311481468
Write that you have 1857-1920 Hutschenreuther Selb Bavaria Pink Roses Gold Trim Plate/Bowl/Cup.

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March 26, 2021

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It appears you already have information about the mark and dates so it seems what you are looking for is a pattern name?
From information about this company and Replacements.com they either did not place names on most of their patterns or the actual records have been lost over time.
You said that you did research on Replacements.com but did you request information about your pattern?
www.replacements.com/identify.htm

Replacements has a lot of pictures of this brand of china but only a very small percentage actually have names - most of their 'stock' pictures show only numbers or number codes.
Some sources say no name was given when the pattern had a 'short run' but I cannot verify that statement.

You do not ask about value so I'm not sure if you are just looking for additional information or if you plan to sell.
Value is very low on almost all kinds of 'fine' china and sales are usually very slow.
It also appears that gold/platinum trim pieces are not as popular as other styles. I'm sure you have checked all of the name auction sites for your pattern but if value is what you are looking for, most likely you will have to check out similar pieces (sold prices only for value) and decide for yourself what price you wish to use.
If these are the only pieces you have then it may be good to post them together.

You may have seen this site but it is interesting as to how many people do not know the pattern name:
I do NOT recommend paying this site for information but some questions/answers are free.
www.justanswer.com/.../8m3zr-two-serving-pieces-marked-hutschenreuther...
www.justanswer.com/.../6gbve-porcelin-hutschenreuther-selb...

Example of value:
When a beautiful tureen only sells for $15.49 - that is really low.
www.ebay.com/.../383997593030?hash=item59680a45c6...

Here is a link to eBay's sold listings:
www.ebay.com/.../i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=JHR+Hutschenreuther...

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