Antique Meissen Vases
Saxon hard-paste porcelain vases for ornamental display, from miniatures a few inches high to large lidded pairs made for a mantel or cabinet.
Antique Meissen Vases
Hard-paste porcelain was first made in Europe at Meissen in Saxony in the early 18th century, and vases were among the ornamental wares produced there, first for princely display and later for domestic rooms. The style was widely copied by other Saxon and continental factories through the 19th century.
The heading is drawn broadly. Of the eight listings in the archive, three are catalogued as something adjacent to the factory rather than the factory itself: a "Meissen style" gourd pair, an "Augustus Rex" lidded pair and a Dresden lidded pair. Dresden is a place-name for Saxon decorating-studio porcelain in the Meissen taste, and it circulates alongside the factory's own work.
The single most likely encounter is a pair of decorated vases of late 19th-century date. Four of the eight titles begin "Pair" or "Large Pair", and two of those are lidded. Single vases sit at the smaller end: a cobalt pair from the 1930s, a 19th-century spill pair, a miniature in the Kakiemon taste dated c.1735, which is the only pre-1800 piece.
Dating is dealer estimate rather than certainty. Four listings say only "19th Century" with no year, three carry a clean year, and the titles lean on "circa" and "c." throughout. Around two of these come to market a year across Sellingantiques, listed by four different dealers, so the sample is thin and the forms rarely repeat.
Where The Range Splits
Pairs carry the category. All four pair listings sit in the upper half of the price-sorted archive, and the three singles and small vases are the cheapest entries. Covers push further still: the two highest-placed listings are both pairs of lidded vases, and the one title that says "Large" is a lidded pair at the very top.
Attribution does work in the title. Where a listing states Meissen, Augustus Rex or Dresden outright, it sits above the one catalogued as "Meissen style", which is dealer wording for a piece in the manner rather than attributed. Named ground colour does less than you'd expect: cobalt appears only once, on the cheapest entry rather than the top.
Age can lift a small piece. The one 18th-century entry is a miniature, and it still sits above both the 1930s cobalt pair and the 19th-century spill pair. Size and date pull against each other at the bottom of the range, and early dating wins.
Antique Meissen Vases Retail Price Guide 2026
Typical UK retail prices for meissen vases, calculated from the Sellingantiques database of over a million retail prices indexed since 2003. This retail price guide relies exclusively on Sellingantiques data; no external sources or auction records are used, so the figures do not describe the wider market.
Half the Meissen vases listed on Sellingantiques have been pairs rather than singles, and the top sale was a lidded pair titled Large.
The Antique Meissen Vases Glossary
- Pair
- Two vases made and sold together; four of the eight listings in this archive are pairs, and all sit in the upper half of the range.
- Lidded vase
- A covered vase, often one of a garniture pair. The cover is part of the piece and belongs with it.
- Meissen style
- Dealer wording for a vase in the manner of Meissen rather than attributed to the factory.
- Dresden
- A place-name used for Saxon decorating-studio porcelain in the Meissen taste, distinct from the Meissen factory itself.
- Spill vase
- A small tapering vase for holding spills, the thin tapers used to carry a flame from the fire. It turns up once in the whole archive, as a 19th-century pair.
- Kakiemon
- A Japanese-derived palette with sparse asymmetric decoration, copied by early European porcelain factories. One miniature here is decorated in that taste.
- B Form / B Shape
- A factory shape designation quoted in one title. Shape codes are how some sellers identify a model.
Antique Meissen Vases: Frequently Asked Questions
Are Meissen vases usually sold in pairs?
Half the eight listings in the archive are pairs, titled "Pair" or "Large Pair", and every one of them falls in the upper half of the price-sorted range.
The singles are the smaller, plainer end: a miniature, a small cobalt pair from the 1930s, a spill pair.
What does Augustus Rex mean on a vase?
It refers to an "AR" monogram mark, associated with early royal Saxon commissions and much used in later years. One title in this archive names it, spelled "Augustas Rex".
It appears in the listing title rather than as a separate attribution, alongside Dresden and "Meissen style" as the labels dealers use for Meissen-adjacent porcelain.
How old are these vases?
Four of the eight listings say simply "19th Century" with no year. Three carry a clean year, spanning 1880 to 1930.
One piece, a miniature Kakiemon vase, is dated c.1735 and is the only pre-1800 entry. Titles use "circa" and "c." freely, so the dates are dealer estimates.
That spread means the category as listed runs from the early 18th century to the 1930s.
Is Dresden porcelain the same as Meissen?
No. Dresden is a place-name used for Saxon decorating-studio porcelain made in the Meissen taste, and it is distinct from the Meissen factory.
It appears in this category because dealers list the two alongside each other. Three of the eight titles name something other than Meissen itself.
What shapes of vase turn up?
Spill vases, gourd vases, lidded vases and a miniature all appear, plus one piece identified by a factory shape code quoted as "B Form / B Shape".
Each of those forms shows up once or twice at most. The gourd shape and the shape code each occur exactly once in the whole archive.
Lidded vases are the form that recurs at the top of the range.
How often do these come up for sale?
Around two a year across Sellingantiques, listed by four different dealers.
That makes the category a thin one, and the forms within it rarely repeat from one listing to the next.