Porcelain Mark and Signature Help - Post 2 of Does a signature indicate age

I purchased two porcelain pieces because they had a signature, so I could explore with you all the issue of age as it relates to signatures on porcelain. From the first post, I learned that a signature was not an indicator of age. So my questions for this second piece are does any one recognize the mark or signature on this small candy dish. It is quite worn and faded with a lot of scratches. The mark does not have a country and Googling wreaths with crowns and A.G. hasn't gotten me anywhere. Any comments will be appreciated.

 

I have never seen that mark before but it looks to me like a reproduction of a old German or French box. One way to tell if a picture is hand painted or a decal is to look at it through a magnifying glass. Decals are made up of a series of tiny dots and those dots are visible under magnification. If it's hand painted you may actually be able to see the brush strokes themselves.

As for the mark, it looks modern to me. The typeface looks modern and the crown, bow and wreath are not particularly well done and not what I'm used to seeing on older pieces. Rather they are more what I am used to seeing on reproduction marks. This is all my own opinion and others may differ.
Don

 

Don
That is so helpful. I really appreciate you taking the time to educate me. As you can see there are clearly dots. I buy these things to learn from. I'll just donate this puppy back and watch for these signs in the future. Thank you. Kiko

 

I am glad I could help, Kiko. I remember an episode of Antique Roadshow where the expert was evaluating porcelain. The evaluator said that the last thing they looked for when attempting to identify porcelain and glass was the signature. The reason for that is the signature can be easily faked. Rather it was best to evaluate an item based on other factors such as the quality of the artwork or particular design attributes.
Don

 

Now that’s also very interesting. I was of the mistaken belief that newer atuff was unsigned so that was an indicator. Will try to learn these other points.

 

To an extent that is true. Many new items we see here in the US are marked only with foil labels that are easily removed. There are, though, many very nice older pieces that are unmarked and they are frequently overlooked due to that fact. All the more reason to become familiar with other item characteristics. Look for well decorated items. You know how to spot decals. Also note the areas of sloppiness in your box above: the pen line surrounding the decal is particularly troubling. It was not drawn with a very steady hand. And the gold and white dots show a lack of uniformity. All are clues that made me feel uneasy that this was a genuine old piece.
Don

 

Don
This is so helpful. You have given many clues to look for. I am already going to re-donate a cup and saucer that I was going to ask about using these points. I spend a lot of time at the store looking carefully at each item, so I can learn. I reject 90% of what I examine, but still have lots to learn. Kiko