Chinese export, Delft and faience, Meissen and the Continental factories, English porcelain, majolica, crystal and cut glass. Turn it over, photograph the mark, and we'll tell you what it is and what it's worth — including the honest news about the dinner service.
the porcelain corner
Most twelve-place china services from the 1950s onward — Lenox, Royal Doulton, Noritake, Wedgwood's everyday patterns — have a small resale market: younger families don't want twelve of anything, and the patterns were made by the tens of thousands. We'll tell you plainly which patterns still sell and which are better donated with a receipt. Older, rarer or hand-painted services are a different matter, and so are the odd pieces — tureens, platters, sauceboats — that are worth more than the plates.
The mark on the base tells us the factory and often the period: crossed swords, a crowned N, an anchor, a pseudo-Chinese reign mark on an export piece, a printed English backstamp with a registration number. Photograph it close, in good light, along with the whole piece. Then check the condition against the light: chips, cracks, hairlines, restoration, and — on gilded and painted pieces — wear to the decoration. Damage matters more on porcelain than on almost anything else we buy, so tell us what you see; we'll tell you what it means.
For a few pieces, the shop is easiest. For a cabinet or a house of porcelain, we come to you — wrapped porcelain travels badly in a car trunk, and the walk-through lets us see the pieces in context. Naples, Marco Island, Bonita Springs, Estero, Fort Myers and Cape Coral, by appointment. For everything in the house, see estate services.
Older, rarer or hand-painted services, yes. Common mid-century patterns have little resale value and we'll tell you so rather than waste your trip — though the serving pieces from those sets often do sell.
The foot rim, the glaze, the mark and the way the blue was painted all tell. Photograph the base and the decoration and we'll tell you, free.
It reduces it, sometimes a great deal, depending on the piece. A rare early piece with a chip is still worth having; a common piece with a chip usually isn't. Tell us about damage up front and we'll price honestly.
We'll look, but candidly, these have lost most of their value and we can rarely buy them. We'll suggest where they might sell instead.
Yes, anywhere from Marco Island to Fort Myers, by appointment. We bring packing materials.
We buy single pieces and entire estates — antiques, silver, art, and furniture. Honest evaluations, free of charge and free of pressure.