How do you value the stamp at the bottom of a 24 inch Chinese porcelain urn?
The stamps give you information about the making of the vase. In order to value it you must find someone who can tell you what it actually says and then what that means for the quality, rareness, age, and desireability of the piece. You can attempt to go to an appraiser or a large auction house such as Sotheby’s, or you can try to figure out some of it yourself. http://www.gotheborg.com/marks/index-china-marks.htm is a site that covers many of the marks. The creator of the site says “The only rule that is really certain when it comes to Chinese porcelain marks, is that most of them are NOT from the period they say. Still the marks are something of a fingerprint of the potter and its time, and from a careful study they offer a great help in identifying the date and maker of most Chinese porcelain.” There are a number of images of marks on the site as well as pictures of various kinds of Chinese porcelain a
