What forms turn up most often?

Small to medium table and tea wares. Bowls lead the titles, then dishes, tureens, platters and saucers, with tea, coffee and dessert wares and full services close behind. Figures and figurines are the main non-table group, running to roughly a tenth of the listings.

Which factory names appear most?

Mason's is the most persistent name in the samples, its ironstone covering nearly every table form from cider mug and porringer to soup tureen and meat platter. Worcester is the other constant, spread across successive periods, with Royal Worcester in thirty-three titles. Georgian and Regency porcelain brings in New Hall, Spode, Ridgway, Davenport, Coalport, Machin, Yates and Swansea.

Is Chinese porcelain part of this category?

Yes, though a modest share. Chinese export, famille rose, Canton and rose medallion, Nanking, Kangxi and Qianlong pieces all appear, along with Japanese Arita and Imari bowls and chargers. The Asian wares supply most of the largest single vessels quoted by size, including punch bowls and rose medallion bowls measured at 15.5, 16 and 19 inches across.

How are these pieces dated in listings?

The dated field spans 1700 to 1960. Fewer than half the listings carry a clean year; the rest sit under century labels, decade labels or reign words. "19th Century" is the single largest bucket, with "18th Century" next. Georgian, Regency and Victorian are used as period shorthand rather than tight dates.

Do unusual shapes come up?

They do, as one-offs rather than a steady supply. The samples include an ironstone foot bath and miniature watering can, a spoon warmer, a match striker, a pair of card racks, an inkstand, a pen tray, a soap dish and an umbrella stand. Nursery and child's wares are a small recurring thread: a child's toy dinner service, a flow blue child's tea service, a nursery pug dog mug, a Mickey Mouse egg cup, a baby's plate with fairies.

Why does blue-and-white appear so often?

Underglaze blue, usually printed from an engraved transfer, was the workhorse decoration for English tableware, and it carries through the category. "Blue" appears in fifty-three titles and "white" in forty-five, spanning Georgian transfer-printed platters at one end and Kangxi brush pots at the other.

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Antique China

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Porcelain, bone china and ironstone made for the table, from mid-18th-century tea wares to mid-20th-century services, with a steady run of porcelain figures alongside.