All you ever wanted to know about antiquedave

Welcome to my page

Last update, April 2006.

Hello fellow ebayers! Thanks for stopping by. Here you will find details of what I like to buy and sell on ebay, as well as some of my trading principles.

First a little background...I was born and raised in Great Britain in the city of Leicester which is about 100 miles north of London. Our family name can be traced back many centuries and likely originated in this small village. After being educated here and here, I came to the USA in 1988 for what was meant to be a 2-year position in Boston MA. Needless to say, there I met the woman who became my wife in 1991 - so my plans changed. Since getting married, we have lived in Dublin, Ohio, which is about 15 miles NW of Columbus, Ohio.

Buying and selling on ebay

We enjoy selling on ebay and try to offer a diverse variety of items. One of our relatives used to own an antique shop and many of our listings are from their inventory. Most items are listed in great detail and with several photos but feel free to send an email if you have questions. All we ask is for buyers to be honest and to complete the transaction in a timely manner.

Over the last 10 years, my wife and I have developed a shared interest in 19th century German porcelain. We are not dealers and both have very busy professional lives so ebay has helped enormously in being able to build up a respectable collection. We like the detail on the figures, cherubs, and flowers from the late 1800's, something that was lost on 20th century pieces. We are less interested in the "lacey dress" figurines and more captivated by lamps, candelabras, clocks, compotes etc. Our favorite "Dresden" company is Sitzendorf, with Schierholz coming in a close second. The Sitzendorf company is still in business today and can be found at http://www.dresdenusa.com. There is an "authorized rep" trading on ebay using the ID "baggino" - but I am NOT endorsing that seller in any way. These manufacturers generally marked their wares very distinctively. This and this are typical late 1800's Sitzendorf marks while this has been used since the turn of the century. This is the late 1800's Schierholz mark while this was used from the early 20th century onwards. The dramatic change in each mark coincides with the conversion of the Sitzendorf factory to a joint stock company and of Schierholz to a limited liability company, both of which occurred in the early 1900s. We usually prefer pieces bearing the "crossed-lines" to ensure that we are in the pre-1900 era.

In addition, there are a few other indicators that can help to ascertain the authenticityou should try to find an "impressed" number (model number) as well as a handpainted number usually in gold, brown, green, red or blue script (decorator/painter number). These are often missing on more recent versions and on fakes (see below). This, this and this are good examples of Sitzendorf pieces that have all the 'right' marks. On some occasions you may even find another impressed mark which likely represents the workman's number. This piece has all 4 marks. Generally, you would expect authentic old pieces to have all its markings under the glaze, not over. An excpetion is that since the foot or base of certain items did not receive glaze during the firing process, numbers appearing this location are not underglaze and are frequently quite worn, such as in this example. Wherever possible, you should not rely solely on the marks as evidence of authenticity, though it is often a big help. Additionally, good quality older pieces usually have fine details on the fingers and toes (especially fingernails and toenails); these are missing or 'merged" on more recent pieces or fakes. All in all, you need to consider the overall package to determine what you are truly looking at.

Similar crossed line marks do crop up on newer poor quality oriental and European pieces and these are often listed on ebay as though they are the "real McCoy". Marks such as this, this, and this are typical examples and often occur with other numbers and letters, often in red capitals. Sometimes there are other indications that a piece is not German. This item, which was on ebay in April 2006, was a seemingly nice piece of Sitzendorf - until you turned it over and found this. Often the decorator and model numbers are missing, though other characters may be added. Sometimes, the marks are above the glaze, not below. With practice, it becomes easier to the distinguish genuine pieces such as this or this from knockoffs such as this . The difference is best appreciated with "like" pieces such as this which is in my collection (here's its mark) as compared to this which was on ebay in February 2003 (here's its mark) or these Shierholz candlesticks (marks) versus these copies . Here's another example of a genuine Sitzendorf piece (feint but discernable marks) that I purchased on ebay in April 2006 versus a copy that was listed at the same time (mark). In this example, the cherubs are holding porcelain bells and grasping a branch on the original but not on the copy ; also the difference in facial details speak for themselves. Over the years, I have seen good money thrown after bad many many times. Buyer beware and remember "Knowledge is power".

Of course, we are well aware that there were finer porcelain manufacturers (e.g. Meissen, Thieme) but are very comfortable with the price:quality ratio of the so-called "lesser" German companies. We also like Austrian amphora from the same era, again with the cherub theme and usually with this type of marking. We also have a few 19th century German paintings on porcelain of which this one is our favorite. Over the years, we have developed a nice collection (of which this is a small sample) and tend to be less prolific buyers these days...after all, display space is something that becomes a premium for collectors of anything. However, sometimes we find something on ebay that is unexpected or a little different and then get into "snipe" mode. As in any other collection, we are always trying to upgrade. If we were to start over and had unlimited resources, I might be tempted to collect some nice Minton or Worcester figurines (in keeping with my British heritage) or even Meissen or KPM. However, we have to eat and are happy with what we have.

Over the years we have accumulated quite a number of reference books to help us on our journey. While no book is perfect, I think that this book by Rontgen is very good for marks while Godden (who is well known in the English porcelain field) wrote these two very readable texts. Those of you who don't have access to a good mark book might want to try this site for starters. If you have a piece of porcelain bearing the name "Dresden" then you should go here. As you will see, not all Dresden is from Germany. This is a ME page of another ebay member that has some great links.

We are sometimes asked "what is your favorite piece?" This is an impossible question but I must admit to being particularly fond of this chandelier and clock. Amazingly enough, the chandelier came from an antique store right here in Columbus OH, which is a very unusual find in this neck of the woods. I have never seen one like it on ebay. Each arm has a bird perched on top and a floral ball hanging below. There are also 3 child-like figures who have "leaf crowns" on their heads and are holding floral swags. The clock came from a dealer in England and, once again, I have never seen anything quite like it on ebay. The detail on the casework is amazing. It has the original 1875 German works inside and keeps perfect time.

The ebay site is too big for me to find my way around so I have added these links to help me navigate. Fees , Ebay official time ,and pottery board. This last link is a great resource and you can get a lot of information from the folks there - not just porcelain and pottery, but recipes, computer problems, pets, health...try it - it's fun and educational!

December 2004 Update : In the last few months ebay has been flooded with porcelain pieces created in the so-called "Meissen Style" or "Dresden Style". They are generally listed very cheaply and appear to be contemporary knockoffs that are of low quality but could confuse some buyers, especially as the marks can be mistaken for the real thing. If you click here (mark), here (mark), and here (mark) you will see some of these reproductions that were listed on ebay in December 2004. I do not believe that the sellers of these items are being very forthright in their listings; often the marks are not shown at all. In fact, if you do a historical search of some sellers items, you will see the same thing being sold time and time again, Clearly, these cannot be authentic old pieces. This is my "2 cents" for saying, once again, buyer beware. Many of these items tend to be listed by sellers in the UK. In fact on a trip to London, I recently had the opportunity to examine and handle one of these pieces "close up" and can only describe it as garbage.

March 2005 Update - The question of marks: In addition to the marks described above, there are some marks which I have not been able to identify. These appear on high quality pieces that are clearly authentic and old. I presume that they originate from factories such as Sitzendorf or Schierholz but have not come up with a definitive identification. If anyone can offer an opinion on these, please let me know.

1. This mystery "wavy" mark which is not underglaze and is on this wonderful piece in my collection. I have seen this mark on several so-called Sitzendorf pieces offered on ebay but do not think that is correct.

2. This mystery "$" mark which is appeared on this bowl.

3. This "circle and line" mark which appeared on this mirror ( close-up) .

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