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Belleek
Porcelain
An Irish Wolfhound with its head
turned back to face a Round Tower (believed to be Devenish Round
Tower on Devenish Island in Lower Lough Erne). To the right of the
Tower is an Irish harp. Below, two sprigs of shamrock border the
ends of the banner carrying the word "BELLEEK".
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FIRST PERIOD BLACK MARK 1863 - 1890
Early pieces of parian
leaving the pottery were either impressed with the word "BELLEEK"
or "BELLEEK, CO FERMANAGH". Others were impressed and
marked with the Belleek 1st period mark. The color of the
mark during this period was predominantly black but other
colors were sometimes used, amongst them red, blue,
orange, green and brown. Some pieces of Belleek also carry
the British Patent Office registration mark, which gives
the date of registration, not the date of manufacture. |
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SECOND BLACK MARK 1891 - 1926
Belleek changed its mark
to comply with the McKinley Tariff Act of 1891, requiring
imports to the USA to specify the country of origin. A
second banner was added below the first mark, carrying the
words "CO FERMANAGH, IRELAND". On occasions, particularly
on Trays, both 1st and 2nd period marks can be found.
Usually the 1st period mark is an impressed mark with a
large 2nd period (black) mark. This leads me to believe
that the large 2nd period marks were used on the earlier
pieces and that later versions were scaled down.
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THIRD BLACK MARK 1926 - 1946
A stamp with the words "DEANTA
IN EIRINN"
(made in Ireland) and the
registered trademark number
0857 was added below the
banner. |
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FIRST GREEN or FOURTH MARK 1946 -
1955
The mark remained the same
but had a color change. |
SECOND GREEN or FIFTH MARK 1955 -
1965
To identify that the Belleek
mark was registered in the USA the letter "R" within a
circle was added above the banner. Compare this with the
fourth mark. It is exactly the same apart from the
registration mark - a small (R) above the banner. This (R)
is a very useful pointer - any piece of Belleek, including
baskets, which have this letter are POST 1955. |
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THIRD GREEN or SIXTH MARK 1965 -
1981
The mark was reduced in size
and the words "CO FERMANAGH" deleted, leaving "IRELAND"
within a shortened banner. |
FIRST GOLD or SEVENTH MARK 1980
The same as the Third Green,
but another color change to Gold. Sometimes people get
confused and think that this mark is a "faded" Black mark
- if the (R) is above the harp it is seventh mark. |
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The current mark is Blue
Much small than other marks. |
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