Berlin Porcelain Marks

The KPM and Sceptre marks of the Berlin Porcelain company.

Berlin Porcelain Marks including the well known Berlin Sceptre Mark & significant dates in the history of Berlin Porcelain.

1761 to 1763 -- when Gotzkowsky was in command, Berlin porcelain was marked with the initial 'G' in blue under glaze.

1763 to 1837 -- Berlin porcelain was marked with the sceptre mark in blue under glaze. The Berlin sceptre mark was introduced when Frederick the Great bought the factory. In this period the sceptre was depicted with a horizontal bar.

From the 19th century, in addition to the Berlin factory mark, pieces decorated by painters employed by the Berlin factory had a decoration mark applied. This was stamped in blue, red or green on the glaze and depicted a sceptre, an eagle or a globe.

1837 to 1844 -- the initials 'KPM' were added to the Berlin sceptre mark (KPM stands for Königliche Porzellan Manufaktur').

Marks used by the Berlin Porcelain factory after the re-opening by Gotzkowsky in 1761:

1763 - 1780	1780 - 1790	1790 - 1800	1800 - 1809	1810 - 1815
1815 - 1820	1820 - 1832	1832 - on	1820 - 1837	1837 - 1834
1844 - 1847	1847 - 1849	1849 - 1870	1870 - 1945	1945 - 1962

1844 to 1847 -- the sceptre in the above mark was replaced by an eagle holding a sceptre and a globe. Be aware for objects offered with this type of mark as it is recently used by an unknown factory, producing porcelain, which is poorly modeled and badly decorated.

1847 to 1870 -- a circular seal was used for marking purposes. It depicted the eagle as already described and surrounded by 'KOENIGL. PORZELLAN MANUFAKTUR'

From 1870 -- the Berlin Sceptre mark was re-introduced, but with a diagonal bar instead of the earlier horizontal one.

1882 to 1918 -- a special type of porcelain was developed by Seger; and wares made using this porcelain were marked with the Berlin sceptre mark and the initials 'S.gr.P' (Seger-porzellan).

At the end of the second world war, the berlin porcelain factory was partly destroyed.

During the rebuilding production was moved temporarily to a factory located in Selb. Items produced during this period are marked with the sceptre mark and the initial 'S'.

Examples of actual Berlin Porcelain Marks :

Demonstrating the difficulty in establishing exactly which mark it is. Very close inspection is required due to the sometimes faint application of the mark.