19th Century Belleek
Antique 19th Century Irish High Victorian Decorative Baskets
Porcelain
Antique 19th Century Irish Victorian Vases
Porcelain, Pottery
Antique 19th Century Irish Victorian Decorative Dishes and Vide-Poche
Porcelain, Pottery
Antique Late 19th Century Northern Irish Victorian Tea Sets
Porcelain
Antique Late 19th Century American Porcelain
Porcelain
Antique Late 19th Century American Aesthetic Movement Porcelain
Porcelain
Recent Sales
Antique Late 19th Century Irish Porcelain
Porcelain
20th Century English Centerpieces
Porcelain
Antique 19th Century Irish Centerpieces
Antique 19th Century European Other Tea Sets
Porcelain
Antique Late 19th Century Northern Irish Late Victorian Porcelain
Porcelain
Antique Late 19th Century Northern Irish Victorian Tea Sets
Porcelain
Antique Late 19th Century Northern Irish Victorian Tea Sets
Porcelain
Antique 19th Century Irish Victorian Vases
Porcelain, Pottery
Antique Late 19th Century Northern Irish Victorian Tea Sets
Porcelain
Antique Late 19th Century Northern Irish Victorian Tea Sets
Porcelain
Antique Late 19th Century Northern Irish Victorian Tea Sets
Porcelain
Antique Late 19th Century Northern Irish Victorian Tea Sets
Porcelain
Antique Late 19th Century Northern Irish Arts and Crafts Tea Sets
Porcelain
Antique Late 19th Century Northern Irish Late Victorian Tea Sets
Porcelain
Antique Late 19th Century Northern Irish Late Victorian Tea Sets
Porcelain
Antique Late 19th Century Irish Vases
Porcelain, Pottery
Antique 19th Century Irish Victorian Vases
Porcelain, Pottery
Antique 1890s Irish Victorian Tea Sets
Porcelain
Antique Late 19th Century Northern Irish Late Victorian Tea Sets
Porcelain
Antique Late 19th Century Northern Irish Late Victorian Tea Sets
Porcelain
Antique Late 19th Century Northern Irish Victorian Tea Sets
Porcelain
Antique 19th Century Irish Victorian Vases
Porcelain, Pottery
Antique Late 19th Century Northern Irish Victorian Tea Sets
Porcelain
Antique Late 19th Century Northern Irish Victorian Serving Pieces
Porcelain
Antique Late 19th Century Northern Irish Victorian Tea Sets
Porcelain
Antique 19th Century Irish Victorian Vases
Porcelain, Pottery
Antique Late 19th Century Northern Irish Victorian Tea Sets
Porcelain
Antique 19th Century Irish Victorian Vases
Porcelain, Pottery
Antique Late 19th Century Northern Irish Victorian Serving Pieces
Porcelain
Antique 19th Century Irish Vases
Porcelain, Pottery
Antique Late 19th Century Irish Vases
Porcelain, Pottery
Antique 19th Century Irish Tea Sets
Porcelain, Pottery
Antique 19th Century Irish Vases
Porcelain, Pottery
Antique Late 19th Century American Aesthetic Movement Porcelain
Porcelain
Antique Late 19th Century American Victorian Vases
Porcelain
Antique Late 19th Century American Victorian Vases
Porcelain
People Also Browsed
2010s Italian Medieval Games
Marble, Sterling Silver
Antique Late 19th Century European Moorish Architectural Elements
Wrought Iron
Antique Mid-19th Century German Louis XVI Porcelain
Porcelain, Meissen
Antique Mid-19th Century English High Victorian Taxidermy
Other
Antique 19th Century British Folk Art Nautical Objects
Glass, Wood
Antique Early 1900s English Victorian Vanities
Mahogany, Walnut
20th Century Danish Other Porcelain
Porcelain
Antique 1890s Windows
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Sectional Sofas
Silk, Velvet
20th Century English Tableware
Silver
Antique 18th Century Irish Georgian Decorative Bowls
Crystal
Antique 19th Century French Gothic Revival Fountains
Stone, Limestone, Iron, Wrought Iron
Vintage 1970s Italian Post-Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric
Vintage 1960s Irish Georgian Candlesticks
Sterling Silver
Antique Late 19th Century French Empire Revival Bedroom Sets
Ormolu
Late 20th Century English Mid-Century Modern Windows
Stained Glass
19th Century Belleek For Sale on 1stDibs
How Much is a 19th Century Belleek?
Finding the Right Porcelain for You
Today you’re likely to bring out your antique and vintage porcelain in order to dress up your dining table for a special meal.
Porcelain, a durable and nonporous kind of pottery made from clay and stone, was first made in China and spread across the world owing to the trade routes to the Far East established by Dutch and Portuguese merchants. Given its origin, English speakers called porcelain “fine china,” an expression you still might hear today. "Fine" indeed — for over a thousand years, it has been a highly sought-after material.
Meissen Porcelain, one of the first factories to create real porcelain outside Asia, popularized figurine centerpieces during the 18th century in Germany, while works by Capodimonte, a porcelain factory in Italy, are synonymous with flowers and notoriously hard to come by. Modern porcelain houses such as Maison Fragile of Limoges, France — long a hub of private porcelain manufacturing — keep the city’s long tradition alive while collaborating with venturesome contemporary artists such as illustrator Jean-Michel Tixier.
Porcelain is not totally clumsy-guest-proof, but it is surprisingly durable and easy to clean. Its low permeability and hardness have rendered porcelain wares a staple in kitchens and dining rooms as well as a common material for bathroom sinks and dental veneers. While it is tempting to store your porcelain behind closed glass cabinet doors and reserve it only for display, your porcelain dinner plates and serving platters can safely weather the “dangers” of the dining room and be used during meals.
Add different textures and colors to your table with dinner plates and pitchers of ceramic and silver or a porcelain lidded tureen, a serving dish with side handles that is often used for soups. Although porcelain and ceramic are both made in a kiln, porcelain is made with more refined clay and is stronger than ceramic because it is denser.
On 1stDibs, browse an expansive collection of antique and vintage porcelain made in a variety of styles, including Regency, Scandinavian modern and other examples produced during the mid-century era, plus Rococo, which found its inspiration in nature and saw potters crafting animal figurines and integrating organic motifs such as floral patterns in their work.