I1ERAMIC STUDIO 
"3 
quite noticeable when two pieces are placed side by side. 
Another difference is that gold on old Sevres was burnished 
with nails adjusted on a wooden handle, while at the begin- 
ning of the 19th century these were replaced by agate bur- 
nishers. With practice one may recognize the soft marks of 
the agate burnishing from the sharp marks, sometimes quite 
deep, of the old nail burnishing. 
Dresden china of the 18th century has been as much 
imitated and counterfeited as Sevres, if not more. The cross 
sword mark has been used at all times by numerous potteries, 
and it is very difficult to pronounce a piece of Dresden as 
genuine old Royal Meissen, unless it is accompanied with an 
authentic pedigree. As a matter of fact, old Meissen is 
exceedingly rare, and the prices it realizes are very high. A 
collection considered second only to the collection in the 
Japan Palace of Dresden, that of Hon. Massey Manwaring, 
M. P., was sold in 1899 to Mr. K' n g. a South African million- 
aire, for the respectable sum of $250,000. 
Some of the old English porcelains have, of late years, 
considerably increased in value ; first of all Worcester. The 
most valued specimens of Worcester are, of course, those of 
Dr. Wall's period, 1768 to 1783. It was at that time that the 
famous blue salmon scale decoration was introduced, the 
ground being dark blue, covered with gold ornaments in the 
shape of fish scales. On this ground were panels of white 
ground with decorations of figures, exotic birds or flowers. 
Figure subjects are the rarest, flowers the most common. 
Another famous decoration of this period is the powder blue 
in imitation of Oriental china. 
A fine vase, painted by Donaldson, fetched in the Trap- 
nell sale, in 1899, $3,517, and a pair of salmon scale blue 
ground cups and saucers, with Watteau subjects, sold for 
$787. The later periods of Worcester, the Flight & Barr 
and the Chamberlain periods, which were very much neglected 
by collectors a few years ago, are beginning to realize 
excellent prices. 
But of all English porcelains the most valued is certainly 
the famous Chelsea. One of the peculiarities of the Chelsea 
paste is that its composition is such that any attempt to refire 
it would result in the specimen flying to pieces. There can, 
therefore, be no after decoration or doctoring of old Chelsea, 
as is so often the case with Sevres and many other wares. 
But there are many clever imitations. 
The rarest and most sought after Chelsea pieces are those 
with rose pink, claret or crimson ground colors, also a rich, 
deep Vincennes blue. The most valuable set of Chelsea in 
existence is the set of seven vases in the collection of Lord 
Burton. These have the rose pink ground color and are 
superbly painted after the manner of old Sevres with mytho- 
logical subjects. In 1899 three vases of this ground color, 
from the collection of Lord Methuen, sold at Christie's for 
$15,000. As the Burton vases are more than double the size 
of these and in remarkably good condition, it is difficult to 
guess what sum such a set would bring if it was offered for sale. 
In connection with Chelsea, we may mention Bow and 
Derby. In 1899 a pair of fine Bow figures realized $2,000, 
which is the record price so far. Old Crown Derby also com- 
mands good figures, but only the finest specimens. 
We cannot leave English china without referring to 
prices realized by some pieces of that greatest of all English 
potters, Wedgwood. Some of the fifty original copies of the 
Portland vase have occasionally come for sale at Christie's and 
have brought from $750 to $900. A famous vase in the 
collection of Lord Tweedmouth is valued at from $2,500 to 
$5,000. It is interesting to know that this vase was bought 
only twenty-five years ago for the modest sum of $22.50. 
Some of the old European faiences, especially those of 
the 16th century bring very large figures. In fact it is among 
them that we will find the most highly prized of all keramic 
products. 
Italian majolicas have a prominent place among these 
rare faiences, first of all the Faenza Majolica, decorated in blue 
and yellow. A beautiful plate with grotesque figures, dated 
1508, was bought by A. de Rothschild at the Fountaine sale 
in 1884, for $4,600. A baluster shaped vase in blue and deep 
orange was bought by Mr. George Salting for $5,950. 
The Gubbio faience is quite as famous, especially the 
lustre pieces made by Maestro Georgio Andreoli. His most 
celebrated plate is one decorated with the three Graces, signed 
and dated 1525. Mr. Fountaine bought it for $3,832, at 
the sale of his collection it brought $2,100 and was sold 
again in 1885 to the South Kensington Museum for $4,352. 
Practically all genuine specimensof these rare faiences are 
known and placed. But the flood of counterfeits thrown on 
the market is unabated. Last winter, in New York, two 
Gubbio placques sold in auction sale for $150 a piece. If the 
sale was genuine, it was a pretty big price, as there is not one 
chance in a thousand that these placques were real Gubbio. 
If Sevres is the most valuable of all porcelains, it is also 
a French faience which is the most valuable of all faiences, and 
undoubtedly the finest of all keramic gems without exception. 
This is the celebrated Saint Porchaire faience, also called faience 
d'Oiron or Henry Deux ware. This unique, delicate and 
exceedingly rare ware seems to have turned the heads of col- 
lectors, and its prices in the last years have gone up by leaps 
and bounds to extraordinary figures. Its date is 1520 to 1550. 
There are now in existence only sixty five specimens, all 
placed in collections and museums. The South Kensington 
SAINT PORCHAIRE SALT CELLAR IN THE SOUTH KENSINGTON MUSEUM 
From Litchfield's "Pottery and Porcelain," by courtesy of 
Truslove, Hanson & Comba, New York. 
Museum possesses six of them, which were purchased for 
$12,150, a very modest sum compared with prices that could 
be realized at present. In a sale at Paris in 1899, an ewer 
realized $10,000 and a salt cellar $4,000. At the Spitzer sale in 
Paris in 1893, a tazza was purchased by Mr. George Salting 
for $4,500, and a candlestick in the Rothschild collection cost 
the enormous sum of $18,375, certainly a record price for 
candlesticks. 
