Danish pottery marks

About Danish pottery marks

Royal Copenhagen was founded in 1775. Its three blue waves represent the Øresund, Great Belt and Little Belt, and occur with different crown and lettering formats. Bing & Grøndahl, founded in 1853, used a separate identity based on three towers and B&G. The companies joined in 1987, but B&G annual collector articles continued to use B&G wording. A late B&G plate therefore needs its own series context.

Other marks describe a decorating or later manufacturing business. Kjøbenhavns Porcellains Maleri began in 1883 as a porcelain decorating workshop using imported whiteware. Its later owners established the Danmark factory at Lyngby in 1936. A KPM shield on Danish-decorated porcelain is a different identity from Berlin’s royal manufactory. Dahl-Jensen’s crowned DJ is another Copenhagen mark.

A base can also carry a shape number, decoration number and painter’s initials. These should be transcribed separately. Royal Copenhagen used changes in small dots and bars as date clues in particular periods; the position must be compared with the correct factory chart. A visible number beside the waves is not automatically a year, and two colours of the same stamp do not create separate maker identities.

How to read the marks

Start with the emblem: three waves, three towers, DJ or a named KPM shield.

Copy the complete company and place wording, including Danish spellings.

Record shape and decoration numbers separately from painter’s initials.

For Royal Copenhagen, photograph dots and bars closely enough to identify their exact position.

For B&G annual wares, keep the printed commemorative year and company stamp as separate readings.

Check whether a KPM shield names the Danish decorating workshop rather than Berlin.