Belleek Pottery Marks: How to Identify and Date Them

The mark is usually a printed device mark (supplemented by an impressed mark in some periods), with a core design combining an Irish wolfhound, a harp, a tower, and a shamrock, encircled by a ribbon or ring; different periods use different colors, including black, green, gold, and blue.

• 1st Mark, 1863-1891: Predominantly black, though red, blue, orange, green, brown, and pink versions also exist; some pieces also carry an impressed 'Belleek, CO. FERMANAGH' text or a small impressed harp or harp-and-crown mark, the latter more common on earthenware.
• 2nd Mark, 1891-1926: Because the 1891 U.S. McKinley Tariff Act, and the 1887 British Merchandise Act as amended in 1891, required the country of origin to be marked, the words 'CO FERMANAGH IRELAND' were added on the ribbon below the mark; the color remained black.
• 3rd Mark, 1926-1946: Introduced in 1926, possibly connected to that year's Wembley Exhibition; Celtic-style scrollwork decoration and the words 'deanta in eireann' (made in Ireland) were added around the design; the color remained black.
• 4th Mark, 1946-1955: The factory resumed full production in 1946; tests found green to be less visually obtrusive than black on the translucent china, so the mark color was changed from black to green, with the design itself unchanged from the previous mark.

Pieces can be dated by the evolution of mark color (black to green to gold to blue, etc.), changes in the ribbon text ('CO FERMANAGH IRELAND', 'deanta in eireann', etc.), and the appearance and position of a circled 'R' registration mark, checked against the official published timeline of the 1st through 16th marks.

The official timeline lists 16 marks in total from 1863 to 2019 with their corresponding date ranges, giving a very complete and clear picture; however, no text specifically addressing 'common fakes/points of confusion' could be found on the official website this time, so this field is currently missing.

Turn the piece over and light the mark from a low angle with a lamp or phone torch, which throws the impressed or engraved lines into relief; a printed or painted mark wants soft, even light instead. Fill the frame with the mark, then take a second shot of the whole piece. Do not clean tarnish off silver before photographing; the mark reads better dark. The app matches the mark and shape to the notes above.