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Lithophanes

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Lithophanes are etched or molded artwork made from very thin translucent porcelain. Usually the design can only be seen when the lithophane is held up to a source of light. These images differ from photographs and other two dimensional art in that they give a three dimensional effect when lit. Furthermore, the image changes with the color or angle of the light applied.

Lithophanes were probably created first in China and Japan, where porcelain has been made for so long. Once the secret of porcelain was discovered by the Europeans, lithophanes became a common product of some of the finest porcelain makers in Europe in the 1820′s. Lithophanes are still being made today, and by well known porcelain makers, including Lenox and Wedgwood.

The scenes portrayed in lithophanes are usually simple and emotionally appealing, including angels, short prayers and religious icons. There are also plenty of lithophanes portraying flowers or the animals we keep as pets. Some scenes are made, especially snow scenes, and there are even copies of famous artwork made as lithophanes.

See lithophanes for sale now.

The term lithophane comes from litho, the Greek word for “stone”, and phainein, the Greek for “to cause to appear suddenly”. This can describe the sudden exposure of a figure in the bottom of a cup or stein, as one finishes a drink. Often this is a head, but on occasion a full nude is exposed in this manner.

Lamps with lithophane panels formed into the lamp shade or nightlights are still in production today, with both time-honored images and with those derived from popular culture, like Amy Brown fairies. Although these small miracles are not commonly available, they are not hard to find online.

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Iroquois China

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(pronunciation: ir-a-quoy)

A Twentieth Century china company with industrially designed china shapes and modern decorations for the home. Simply designed and decorated lines were made for the commercial china arena, and Iroquois china was used in some of the finest hotels and dining cars in the US in the first half of the century. All Iroquois china is well marked.

My Opinion

These are Twentieth Century shapes and designs at their best. Find a pattern you like and collect it, or go for various pieces from several shapes and patterns. Most will give an authentic retro feel to your dining table.

See Iroquois China.

Product Lines

dinnerware in various modern shapes and with modern decal decorations
no flatware or crystal made specifically to match
no collectibles

Prices

Still quite reasonable.

Collector’s Society

None.

The Official Company Site

None.

History

The Iroquois China Company was established in 1905 in Solvey, Syracuse, New York, in a plant built for another china company that never even took possession. Iroquois employed some of the big industrial designers of the time to design their china forms, including Russel Wright, Ben Seibel, Michael Lax, and even Peter Max. The modern forms coming from these designers fit the modern decal decorations well. Iroquois also produced a number of patterns on a china design of an older style named Museum White, or Henry Ford Museum, with squared off handles and angled rather than round shapes in the serving pieces. Some of the china designs called for stacking salt and pepper or sugar and creamer, for space saving as well as modern design.

Iroquois produced many forms of restaurant and commercial china for transportation companies as well as the restaurant trade.

Production ceased in 1969.

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Read more about porcelain collectibles in the Porcelain Collectibles Guide.

Porcelain Tea Sets

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Porcelain tea sets are usually intended to be used, although some are so fancy it is hard to imagine such a thing. The regular European tea set may consists of the tea pot, sugar, creamer and four or six cups and saucers. Smaller sets may include just the teapot and a couple of mugs. Larger sets may include an additional hot water pot for the second round of tea, a waste jar for the dregs from each cup before a second cup is poured into it, and as many as a dozen cups and saucers.

Tea set makers like Franz include a specific spoon for each tea cup as well These fantasies of flowers, butterflies or ocean creatures are not really meant to be used, but a large tea set can be accumulated with patience and plenty of money.

Oriental tea sets usually consist of the tea pot and an odd number of tea cups, usually five. If the tea pot is smaller, there may only be three, and the pot only golds three cups of tea. Individual tea pots and single cup sets are also available.

A tea for one tea set is usually a stack of saucer, cup and pot, where the pot holds only two cups of tea. These sets can be quite imaginative in their design, with the cup and tea pot begin formed into animals or ornamental forms.

Children’s tea sets usually have the tea pot, sugar, creamer and six or eight cups and saucers, allowing for the inclusion of many stuffed animals and dolls in the youngster’s party. These sets used to be made from china, then metal and are now mostly made from plastic, but it is still possible to collect the older sets made from porcelain with some effort and working with an antique dealer or two.

Since many porcelain tea sets can be acquired one cup and saucer at a time, you can often make up a set to suit your own preferences, rather than accepting the number of cups or sugar bowls that the accepted set contains. Perhaps you have two forms of sugar you want to offer your guests, then two sugar bowls would make sense. You might also want a bowl for slices of lemon, as well as the creamer. And it is always a good thing to have two tea pots so there is plenty of tea to go around.

Find your own pattern and set up your tea set as you see fit.

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Porcelain Dolls

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Porcelain dolls include both bisque and china dolls. The bisque dolls are not glazed and so have a more realistic skin tone. The china dolls are glazed, making them shiny and more durable. Porcelain dolls include the whole figure, with painted hair and stiff limbs, to dolls with fully articulated limbs that bend at shoulder, elbow, hip, knee and neck.

Older dolls, frequently made in Germany or other European countries, included the head, arms and legs, and the doll maker supplied the torso. These dolls may have leather or cloth “bodies” stuffed with any number of fillings. The body in these cases is rather rectangular, with the and legs attached at the edges of the body. Older bisque dolls often craze as well, having hairline cracks in the surface of the porcelain., but crazing alone is not a guarantee of age.

Half dolls are formed in china or bisque and include the head, arms and upper half of the torso. Holes are provided so the doll maker can add the bottom half of the doll in his or her choice of costume and method of standing for these dolls. Also available from times past are porcelain dolls with composite bodies. These early plastic bodied dolls with only porcelain heads are often jointed and can be placed in both standing and sitting poses.

Porcelain dolls were very popular children’s toys in the Victorian era, from the 1860s to 1900. Some dolls have survived from that time, but new dolls are made every year as well. For antiques dolls, the value of a porcelain doll depends on its age, condition and the presence of the original costume. The manufacturer is also important, and dolls without a makers mark may be valued lower than those with such marks.

Modern porcelain dolls are generally made as collector’s items, and their value is best determined by looking for dolls made by the same maker on the secondary market, like eBay, to see how much they sell for there. There are also people making replicas of the antique dolls, so be sure to understand what you are buying before you put any serious money into a particular doll.

Buying antique and modern porcelain dolls requires some knowledge, but there are books, magazines and clubs to help the neophyte determine what he or she wants to collect. When in doubt, talk to a member of the National Antique Doll Dealers Association (NADDA) to get a feel for the real value of the doll in question. Appraisals are generally very reasonable and may save you a lot of money until you are able to judge the value of a doll for yourself.

The images on this post are from Stock Xchnge.

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Porcelain on Stamps

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One area where one can always spend some time, no matter what one collects, is on the stamps that depict one’s chosen collectible. This is true for porcelain as well as any other field of collecting. There may not be any US stamps with porcelain on them, but there are certainly stamps from other parts of the world which depict china and porcelain.

Chinese and Japanese stamps are bound to have many examples of porcelain over the years. Finding these stamps would only take a stroll though the Scott’s catalogs to identify them. While some of the stamps may be relatively easy to find, it might take a few years to find the more expensive stamps of a set or some of the earliest sets with porcelain on them. Paging through the paper catalog or the electronic one, look at the descriptions as well as the pictures of the stamps. Make a list of the appropriate Scott’s numbers, and you are set to start looking for the stamps themselves.

Europe must also be considered when looking for stamps with porcelain depicted on them, as porcelain and china have been local industries in Germany and other countries for several hundred years. Stamp sets celebrating these manufacturers should be found in both Eastern and Western Europe, regardless of where you set those boundaries. Here again, recording the Scott’s numbers of the stamp sets as you browse through the catalogs will allow you to determine which ones you want to collect and approximately how much the stamps will cost. Then you can get with several stamp dealers and work on building your collection of porcelain stamps.

Nearly every hobby shows up on stamps internationally at some point or other, so look for the stamps that illustrate your special interests and start a topical stamp collection. Easy to store and arrange, stamps can provide hours of fun as you search for and purchase porcelain stamps.

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Christmas China

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There are many types of holiday china that can be used to augment the various end-of-the year celebrations you might hold. These include whole china sets, various assorted mugs, and kitchen decorations like cookie jars and canisters.

One form of Christmas ephemera is the many teapots and mugs available to decorate and use for the holiday season. Although you sometimes have to buy matching mugs, in sets of four usually, most often these holiday extras come as individual purchases. There are also holiday teapots either to match or complement the seasonal mugs, So you can accumulate a wide assortment of mugs to use year after year. Serving wassail or spiced cider drinks to holiday visitors or at parties you host can add a very festive touch to these occasions.

There are many Christmas china patterns, that can be purchased by the place setting or by the complete set, depending on how much you want to spend and whether you want all the place settings to be the same. Traditionally, the table is set with every place the same, but imagine a table where each place is set with different china and drink ware. Some places with predominantly green or red china, or others with gold and silver patterns. This would be a fun table to set, and to collect the components as you find them. It may take some time to find enough for everyone, but as you add settings, no doubt some of the people at your table will develop a preference for a particular setting and it will become “their” place.

For decorating the kitchen for the season’s festivities, there are special ceramic cookie jars, canisters, salt and pepper shakers, spoon rests and other items. These can be fancy like the products of Fitz & Floyd or as simple as the offerings at the local dollar store or warehouse store. These special holiday decorations can be unpacked and enjoyed for many years, and even become family heirlooms to be passed on to the next generation. Look for kitchen ornamental wares as you shop the before and after Christmas sales and pick up a few for next year.

We celebrate the end of the year in many fashions, and there is holiday china for each of the major celebrations. Offer visitors the special food and drink of your holiday traditions in or on china specially made for the season. Happy Holidays!

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