Warning: That "China pattern" on your grandma's plates isn't what you think

Went to an antique shop in Portland last weekend and saw a set of Blue Willow dishes marked as "authentic 1800s China." The shop owner was telling a customer they were from the Qing dynasty. I had to speak up - that pattern was made in England for export, not in China at all. Thomas Minton himself designed it in 1780 for British potteries. I know because my dad collected antique ceramics for 30 years and showed me the marks on the back. Has anyone else run into sellers mixing up Chinese-made pieces with Chinoiserie?

2 comments

2 Comments

charles_chen9314d ago

Went digging through my own grandma's cabinet last week only to realize her "family heirloom" plates are just fancy British imports, oops.

kevin_schmidt9714d ago

I actually saw a TikTok last week where some appraiser said most "antique" family china ends up being mass produced stuff from the 1950s. Something about how grandmas were just real good at making cheap things look fancy for decades.