How to Identify Flow Blue

Look at the construction, coloring and glaze characteristics. Pieces of flow blue are sturdily made. Darker blue colors contrast to the fragile blue and white Chinese porcelain that inspired its creation, and exhibit a flowing rather than crisp, clear design. The clear over-glaze often has a crackled appearance, called crazing. Small chips, cracks and stains from years of use are characteristic.

Look at the piece's pattern. Most flow blue pottery used transfers, resulting in uniformity of design. On the earliest plates and dinnerware, potters placed a central image surrounded by a separate border. Initial designs had Oriental influences. European imagery mixed with Asian designs were then introduced. Later, book images, topographic designs and landscape vistas became common. Later still, sheet-like wallpaper and marbled blue designs were introduced.

Observe the functional design. Flow blue pottery was made for food service use. Dinner services included plates of various sizes, cups and saucers, butter pats, serving bowls and platters. Tea services added pedestal cake plates, creamers, dainties plates, teapots and pitchers. Rarer pieces were made in fewer quantities and include decorative rather than serviceable objects.

Look for a manufacturing mark on the base or underside of the piece. Nearly 30 major English pottery companies produced flow blue pottery. Smaller companies often didn't mark their pieces. A book containing pottery marks, such as Kovels' New Dictionary of Marks, can help with identification. To complicate matters further, in the mid- to late 1800s, French, German, Dutch and American potters started to manufacture flow blue. Two of the best known American companies are Wheeling Pottery Co. and Mercer Pottery Co. Badly blurred marks can indicate a reproduction piece.

Question the price of the piece. Antique flow blue pottery prices range from less than $100 to hundreds of dollars as of November 2010. Rarer, more desirable pieces can cost thousands. Reputable dealers can be found on the FlowBlue.org website.