German 'Crown Mark with N' Porcelain Mark - A J. Uffrecht & Co Figurine?

by Michelle
(Michigan)

German 'Crown Mark with N' Porcelain Mark - Uffrecht Figurine query:- Hello, I have a question about this very elegant German figurine.

She looks to be made of porcelain & has a blue 5 point crown mark with the letter N below the crown. Also marked Germany & the numbers 86.

I have tried to locate any information on this particular piece & the closest I've come is a crown mark from J. Uffrecht & Co. that looks similar. Any information would be MUCH appreciated. Thank you!

Michelle

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Reply from Peter (admin) below - just scroll down



Reply by Peter (admin)

To:- German 'Crown Mark with N' Porcelain Mark - A J. Uffrecht & Co Figurine query


Hi Michelle

Thanks for your interesting query. I like queries like this because you have done a certain amount of research for yourself and have got quite a long way forward.

Identifying obscure pottery marks is a very specialist area and often needs expert input. Not being an expert in this area, I can but give you my penny's worth.

I have written a special search page which should assist you in your quest to identify and value your porcelain wares or china collections:

www.figurines-sculpture.com/antique-china-values.html

This epic post will allow you to research your own items without having to pay an expert.

Your query is interesting to me because it allows us to to go into the bigger subject matter of which German makers have used the famous 'N and Crown' mark of Naples.

It also sheds more light on another company who I have written about before on these query pages: 'Carstens of Tonihoff'

According to www.keramikmuseum.ch, J. Uffrecht & Co., Steingutfabrik, was a branch of the Carstens Kommandit-Gesellschaft Group.

Uffrecht of Neuhaldensleben was founded in 1845 producing figurines, faience, and tea services, amongst other items. They seem to have come under the Carstens ownership in the 1920's during the groups expansion. Carstens Kommandit-Gesellschaft and Erben operated factories all over Germany at one point - namely in Neuhaldensleben, Hirschau, Graefenroda, Georgenthal, Rheinberg, Luebeck, Wallhausen, Greussen, Reichenbach, Blankenhain, Sorau, Elmshorn and Zeven.

Prior to the Carsten's takeover, I could not find evidence of Uffrecht using the 'Crown and N' pottery mark. During the 20th century, it became fairly commonplace for Thuringian factories to use near identical 'Crown with N' marks for their export porcelain. So to narrow the maker down to Uffrecht on the basis of a crown mark with N is not accurate.

Uffrecht did, however, make figurines that have a superficial resemblance to your figure. You can see by the photos above, the original figures dating from circa 1895 are more defined in terms of sculpting quality and production finesse than yours.

This means that your figure could be a more modern 'reprise' of the older wares by Uffrecht in the Carstens era of the 20th Century, or a rip-off from another German firm. I am not qualified to say, but for my money, it is more likely that the high powered Carstens group were trying to cash in on the older more esteemed and valuable Uffrecht figures. The sculpting is elegant, but not in the same genre as the original Uffrecht figurines.

That's my best guess. What do you think?

Just for interest, here are some other German firms who I have found who also use the 'Crown with an N' pottery mark.

Potschappel, founded by Carl Thieme in 1872, Saxony, Germany. Makers of 'art porcelain' in the 'old tradition'. The factory survives to modern times.




Rudolstadt, founded by Ernst Bohne Söhne in 1854 in, Saxony, Germany. Makers of luxury porcelain. originally using an anchor mark (blue) together with the initials 'EBS' but replaced this with the crowned 'N' mark in blue under glaze.



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UPDATE
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We had a comment come in from Tobi (see below) where he spotted that on the www.ceramic-link.de website the mark inset above with the dot to the bottom right is not Ernst Bohne Söhne but attributable to Ackermann and Fritze of Thuringia, Germany - used 1908 onward. This is according to the German standard publication for marks 'Graesse, Fuehrer fuer Sammler von Porzellan'.

Thanks for this info Tobi

Peter (admin)
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END UPDATE
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Sandizell, founded in 1951 by Herr Höfner in 1951 in Saxony Germany. They apparently closed in 2008 and were making figurines and gift wares.



Note:- If your 5 prong N mark doesn't look like it can fit with one of these identifiable German N marks (in other words it is a different 5 prong crown variation from the ones shown above) - it may be German or it may not be, but, the fact is, it is probably not that easy to identify, even for the experts by just the mark. The quality and details of the make of the item would have to be looked at also. Remember, there are other variations of the N with crown - i.e. 3 prong, 7 prong and also the Germanic looped crown without prongs - often with a small cross on the top.

UPDATE:-
Thanks to a very helpful comments post by Judith, a Museum Curator in Germany (see below), we also know the N porcelain mark is also attributed to Johann Gottlob Nathusius of Althaldensleben, 1826 to 1850. We don't have an image though.

Hope this information helps!

Best regards,

Peter (admin)

p.s. The following page is a 'must see' if you are researching fine china - for value and identification:-

Researching the identity and value of antique and vintage fine china.

Please post comments below which you think might be helpful……