Starting to Collect Antique Porcelain - John Sandon > Reviews (1)

I am into collecting antiques,porcelain in particular and my taste is eclectic.I have a great many books on the subject and relatives of mine kindly buy me almost every new reference or guide book that appears each year for Birthdays and Christmas,so I rarely buy them myself unless something truely great comes along which hardly ever happens.

Starting to collect Antique porcelain probably was not an ideal present for me,maybe 20 years ago it would have been more useful was my first impression looking at the cover after unwrapping it."Oh thanks Mum,just what I need another book"

However to be fair,I did sit down and read it from cover to cover,there are some good tips about fakes and restoration,with a decent outline of the history of porcelain starting with its beginings in China during the Sung period some 800 odd years ago,then on into Europe via Italy and of course,Germany and finally England in the mid 18thC.

You may know John Sandon and his father Henry from the BBC TV Antiques Roadshow as the experts on antique porcelain,mostly European and English,especially Worcester as father Henry was curator at the Porcelain Museum in Worcester.You can trust the information in the book is accurate and upto date no question.

There is some information on trade marks,Chinese reign marks and methods of dating pieces so this is a handy guide for the beginner.I am no know it all and found some interesting new information and tips that would be of benefit to any seasoned collector,easy to read with some great pictures and easy to understand,to the point.

I think the book costs around £10 or so new from the chains of discount book outlets and not much more on Amazon.Maybe one to add to your Christmas list?