Questions & Answers
Our trusted network of 1stDibs sellers answer common questions
How can you tell the difference between hard and soft paste porcelain?
1 Answer

The best way to tell the difference between hard paste and soft paste porcelain is to look at a broken or chipped piece. Hard paste porcelain fractures are brittle and smooth, while soft paste porcelain fractures are chalky and break along the grain. On 1stDibs, find a selection of hard and soft paste porcelain pieces from top sellers around the world.
1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022
Related Questions
- What is a paste brooch?1 Answer
- What is antique paste jewelry?1 Answer
- What does paste mean in antique jewelry?1 Answer
- What is the difference between semi-porcelain and porcelain?1 Answer
- What is Lladró porcelain?1 Answer
Shop for Bow Porcelain on 1stDibs
Bow Pair of Porcelain Figures of Liberty & Matrimony, Rococo 1760-1764
By Bow Porcelain
Located in London, GB
This is a fabulous pair of figures of Liberty and Matrimony made by the Bow Porcelain factory between 1760 and 1764. These figures were a popular pair portraying marriage.
The bow...
Category
Antique 1760s English Rococo Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Porcelain
Antique 18th Century Bow English Porcelain Figure of a Flute Player
By Bow Porcelain
Located in Philadelphia, PA
An antique English porcelain figurine.
By Bow.
In the form of a boy clothed in 18th century garb and holding a flute.
We've noted losse...
Category
Antique 18th Century English Georgian Porcelain
Materials
Porcelain
Tankard with Famille Rose Decoration, Bow C5145
By Bow Porcelain
Located in Melbourne, Victoria
Baluster-shaped tankard, decorated with a pattern taken form the Chinese, in the famille rose-verte palette. It is amusing to note how the house on a hill in the original has been me...
Category
Antique Mid-18th Century English Chinoiserie Porcelain
Materials
Porcelain
Pair of Bocage Candlesticks, Putti and Goats. Bow 1766
By Bow Porcelain
Located in Melbourne, Victoria
A rare, possibly unique, pair of candlesticks in the form of putti, representing The Four Seasons. This is the pair pictured in Stonor’s book (#94); we’ve b...
Category
Antique Mid-18th Century English Rococo Porcelain
Materials
Porcelain
Plate Disheveled Birds, Bow Porcelain Factory, circa 1767
By Bow Porcelain
Located in Melbourne, Victoria
Of silver shape with lobed and gilt dentil edge; the well with a landscape of exotic birds enameled in a brilliant palette all on a festoon of dense green-black foliage, the rim with insects and exotic butterflies.
The bird painter...
Category
Antique Mid-18th Century English Chinoiserie Porcelain
Materials
Porcelain
Early Cream Boat, Worcester, circa 1753
By Bow Porcelain
Located in Melbourne, Victoria
A small, early boat of rare oval form, the more usual being the hexagonal.
Appealingly naïve polychrome decoration of the period, possibly done outside the factory at one of the enamelling works.
The early Worcester...
Category
Antique Mid-18th Century English Neoclassical Porcelain
Materials
Porcelain