Reign mark
A reign mark is an inscription, usually on the base of a piece of Chinese porcelain or metalwork, naming the era of the emperor under whom it was made. Reign marks were first applied under the Yongle Emperor, who reigned from 1402 to 1424, to porcelain and other luxury goods made for the imperial court. Since then they have been copied on a vast scale, and they must be read as claims, not as dates.
Definition
A reign mark uses the era name of an emperor, which from the Ming dynasty onwards was one name for each reign: the Hongwu Emperor began the system of one era name per monarch, which is why Ming and Qing emperors are usually known by their era names, such as Yongle, Xuande, Kangxi or Qianlong.
Origin
Imperial porcelain was made at Jingdezhen in Jiangxi, where the imperial kiln factory was established in 1369; it produced only for the court, and defective pieces were destroyed on site. Chinese taste revered the past, and later wares often borrowed the forms, decoration and marks of earlier reigns, producing waves of revival, imitation and outright fakery, the three often hard to tell apart. Marks continued into the 20th century: after Yuan Shikai's short-lived empire, porcelain made in the 1920s and 1930s often carried his Hongxian reign mark.
Jingdezhen
Most marked imperial porcelain was made at Jingdezhen, which may have made pottery as early as the sixth century and takes its name from the era name of Emperor Zhenzong, Jingde, in whose reign, around 1004, it became a major kiln site. By the 14th century it was the largest centre of Chinese porcelain production. It lies close to the best deposits of porcelain stone and is surrounded by pine forests that fuelled the kilns. From the Ming dynasty its official kilns were controlled by the emperor and made imperial porcelain in large quantities for the court and for gifts. In our reading, this concentration is why imperial marks were so valuable to copy.
Key facts
| First used | Under the Yongle Emperor, 1402 to 1424 |
|---|---|
| One name per reign | From the Hongwu Emperor, Ming dynasty |
| Imperial kiln | Jingdezhen, from 1369 |
| Copies | Revival, imitation and fakery, from the Ming onwards |
How to read one
- A mark is a claim. In our handling, an earlier reign mark on a later piece is common, and often honest in intent, as homage.
- Read the piece first. Body, glaze, decoration and making tell the date; the mark comes last.
- Style of writing. In our reading, the calligraphy and its placing are worth comparing with documented marks of the same reign.
- Our titles. We write "with a Qianlong mark", never "Qianlong", unless the piece itself supports it.
Where it appears in the collection
A quatrefoil censer with a Qianlong mark is one example, on the Asian antiques shelf. Our guide to karamono explains how we describe attribution.
Related entries
- Sometsuke: blue and white, where many marks appear
- Celadon: the green ware that preceded blue and white
- Gilt bronze: metalwork that also carries marks
Sources
- Jingdezhen porcelain, encyclopaedia entry, for the kiln site and its name, reign marks under Yongle, the imperial kiln factory, revival, imitation and fakery, and Hongxian marks. wikipedia.org
- Chinese era name, encyclopaedia entry, for the Hongwu Emperor's system of one era name per reign. wikipedia.org
Last reviewed 15 November 2026. The Japonista Curation and Concierge Team, Tokyo, Japan.