Meissen marks: dating the crossed swords and spotting imitations

Genuine Meissen is marked with crossed swords painted by hand in cobalt blue under the glaze, a mark proposed in 1722 and generally established by 1731. Small changes to the swords, such as a dot between the hilts or a star under Count Marcolini, help date a piece, but the mark has been copied so often that it must always be read together with the porcelain, modelling and painting.

By the Antique ID team · Updated 2026-10-13

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Where the crossed swords came from

Augustus the Strong founded the Meissen manufactory in 1710, and for almost a decade it was the only porcelain maker in Europe. Once rival factories appeared, Meissen needed a way to mark its originals. According to the manufactory, its first inspector, Johann Melchior Steinbrück, proposed in 1722 using the crossed swords from the coat of arms of the Electorate of Saxony. The German Patent and Trade Mark Office notes that letter marks such as K.P.M., M.P.M. and K.P.F. were common before 1731 and that the swords were generally established from 1731. Meissen registered its trademarks on 20 May 1875.

The swords are painted by hand in Meissen's own cobalt blue, which survives the high glaze firing, so the mark lies under the glaze. That is the first thing to check. Because each mark was painted by a person, no two are identical, and early marks on unglazed bases can be faint or missing.

Dating the swords by period

The swords changed in small ways over three centuries. The table follows the dating published by the Meissen database meidabank, with the Marcolini dates from the V&A. Treat each range as a guide: painters did not always follow the rules, and the decoration and form must fit the same period.

From 1948 a year sign was also stamped into the base of each piece, according to the DPMA. Meidabank adds that it was geometric at first and alphabetic from 1980. Model numbers help too: from 1764 Meissen used letter-and-number codes such as A 1 to Z 99. A V&A soup plate from about 1800–1810 shows the Marcolini mark in practice: crossed swords with a star in blue, plus the impressed marks 31, 4 and B.

The AR monogram

Before the swords were standard, some of the finest pieces were painted with an intertwined AR. The V&A explains on a vase of about 1734 that AR stands for Augustus Rex and suggests the piece was meant for a royal residence or as a personal or diplomatic gift; because Augustus II died in 1733, the mark may relate to his son Augustus III. Such a restricted court mark is exactly what later decorators and copyists found attractive. An AR on a commonplace cup or on decoration in a 19th-century style should be treated as an imitation until a specialist says otherwise.

Grinding cuts: how Meissen marked seconds

Pieces sold below first quality were marked after glazing by grinding one or more short cuts across the swords. The meidabank summary gives the usual meaning:

A cut mark matters when you research value: a second can be genuine Meissen and still be priced differently from a first-quality piece. A white piece with one cut that has colorful painting may have been decorated outside the factory.

Imitations and copies, and how to tell

Meissen has been copied almost from the start. The V&A records that between 1729 and 1731 the Paris dealer Rodolphe Lemaire had Meissen copy Japanese Kakiemon porcelain; some pieces were left unmarked and others had the swords added over the glaze in blue, which could be removed with acid so the copies could be sold as Japanese.

In the 19th century the Paris firm of Edmé Samson, founded to reproduce museum ceramics, copied Meissen among many other factories. The British Museum notes that Samson used an “Ss” mark and worked in hard-paste porcelain, but that many Samson pieces have since been confused with originals, especially where the mark was removed. Factories and decorating studios around Dresden also made Meissen-style flowers, figures and rococo pieces under their own marks; a Potschappel plate in the V&A, for example, carries its maker's mark under a crown in blue. Such pieces are legitimate in their own right, but a seller may present them as Meissen.

• Glaze position: genuine swords are underglaze. An overglaze mark you can feel or that sits on top of the glaze is suspicious.
• Fit with the period: a dot-period mark on a figure in a later style, or a star on a piece with 20th-century decoration, does not add up.
• Other marks: incised model numbers and impressed workmen's numbers should be consistent with Meissen practice for the period.
• Quality: look at the whiteness of the porcelain, the crispness of modelling, and the detail of painting and gilding. Copies often fall short in at least one of these.

What drives value

Period, model, decoration, size, condition and quality grade all matter. Early pieces, rare models and fine painting are most sought after. Chips to fingers and lace, restored flowers, rubbed gilding and grinding cuts change the picture, as does provenance. A mark alone never settles the question.

Next steps

Photograph the base in good light, including any incised or impressed numbers, then scan the piece with Antique ID for an identification and an estimated value. An estimate is not an appraisal: for an important piece, consult a specialist in European porcelain. The German version of this guide is Meissen Marken.

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