Age Signs: How to Tell the Rarity of Antique Porcelain Products

They say that in order to get the best and the priciest antique porcelain product in the market, what you need to do is to select the oldest and you get the best. This is a good move for someone who knows his porcelain subject, but this could be difficult for someone who has a limited background in these products. 

So what can be done so that you will not left out and to avoid being given the wrong porcelain? One important that you should acquire is the skill that can help you tell the age characteristics of porcelain. 

The recognizable age signs of the porcelain will tell you if the product that is given to you is the real one, or something that has just been manufactured last year! one thing to remember first; take note that even the age signs can be faked as well so make sure that you are prepared the right way. 

In noting the age of these products there are two basic rules that can be considered. One is that if the piece has no visible age signs, then you can take that piece as newly made. And second, if the piece is full of age signs and telling you to look at it as an antique then better reconsider as the piece may not be antique at all. Other than these, there are signs that you should know that can help you in your assessment. Here are those age signs worth noting:

• Check the discoloration on the piece. Pieces with glaze and decorations will not get discolored, except for articles that are in display for a long period of time.

• Another age sign is the crackle, and the discolored crackles that can be seen on porcelain pieces are indicative of the old age of the products. Just be careful in assessing these products with crackles since this sign can be faked too. What you can do when shopping is to check the authenticity of the crackles on the porcelain.

• Rust spots can be considered too as a sign of age. Rust spots are often small in porcelain and these are formed as a result of the movement of the iron residue into the surface.

• Glaze contractions can be used as signs for age or the authenticity of the porcelain pieces.  For genuine pieces with glazed contractions, these contractions are made due to the kiln conditions during the time of production- could even be a century ago. But again this is not a reliable indication for the age, so make sure that you use this in determining the kiln conditions and during that time and not necessarily the age. You'll these as the small spots with holes or recesses.

The ones discussed can be used in telling the authenticity of porcelain pieces. The best way is to make use of a combination of these signs when assessing products to determine best which porcelain products are genuine or not- and to check if they are antique or not.
