Research & Field Notes

The Rabbit Hole Journal

Researched maker studies, backstamp and pattern guides, and the histories behind each find — the reference desk behind the shop, written as we authenticate and date the pieces that pass through our hands.

Antique Meissen porcelain Golden Oriole figurine, yellow and black bird on a flowering tree stump

Object Story

The Bird in the Canopy: Meissen's Golden Oriole

A shy yellow songbird, a king's porcelain menagerie, and a model cast for nearly three hundred years.

Royal Chelsea pink cabbage roses and gold teacup

Maker Notes

The Gilded Roses of Royal Chelsea

A collector's guide to the anchor-marked bone china — and how to read its age in your hand.

Coming soon

How to read an Aynsley backstamp

Dating England's “painter's china” from the marks on its base.

Coming soon

Caring for vintage bone china

Washing, displaying and storing gilded tea ware so it lasts another lifetime.