Flow Blue Staffordshire Ironstone Ring Tree

Porcelain : Antique : Flow Blue

 

This example may be found described as Victorian Flow Blue or Flo Blue and 'Antique' - but it is not an old piece.

Here are some of the aspects about this item that can help to identify it as a contemporary fake, intended to appeal to collectors of Flow (or Flo) Blue:

1. It is not fully glazed. There are unglazed areas visible on the foot rim. Nearly all authentic blue transfer ware pieces will be fully glazed, since they were intended for actual use.

2. The foot rim is also very thick and chunky in appearance. The standing rims of antique Flow Blue items were seldom wider than 1/8 inch.

3. This piece looks to be pottery, not vitrified stoneware, even though the mark says, ‘Ironstone.’

4. The mark on the bottom is very large. Most old marks are almost never over 1 inch in size (about the size of a quarter).

5. Though the Staffordshire area of England has been an important pottery center since the 1700’s, the word “Staffordshire” generally was not included in maker’s marks before the second quarter of the 20th century. Staffordshire is an area not a city.

6 Although the mark on this item looks like a rendition of the Royal Arms, which tends to suggest age and importance, in actuality it is the mark of Blakeney Pottery, which began business in England in 1968. It is known for the blue and white reproductions and fakes they have produced in recent years.

See the Favorite Links section for a page with information on identifying new 'Flow Blue.'

Item ID: 2007RP00022