Tuesday, August 11, 2009

BELL MARK

J. and M. P. Bell and Co. Ltd.Q: I have a plate that I got in the highlands of West Timor, Indonesia, in the 1990s. The back is impressed with a three-leaf clover and a bell next to this red ink-stamped mark. "Buah" means "fruit" in Indonesian. I can't find any information about the maker or age of this plate.

A: This is one of the marks used by J. & M. P. Bell & Co. (Ltd.), a pottery in Glasgow, Scotland, founded by John and Matthew Perston Bell. The pottery was operated from 1842 to 1928. The English registry number on your plate was issued between 1919 and 1924. Much of Bell's production was exported to Asia. Patterns were influenced by traditional Asian designs and were given names of foreign places or foreign words.



1 comment:

Unknown said...

Can someone please tell me an approximate date for Registry #12256. I inherited a set of dishes with this number. Thanks for any help that is offered.