Some reproductions now technically antiques

June 05, 2025

 

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Samson of Paris: Master of Deception

The Samson firm, founded in the 1840s in France, specialised in reproducing Meissen, Chinese export porcelain, and Staffordshire-style figurines. These were often well made—but deliberately deceptive.

How to spot a Samson piece:

• Very high glaze quality (porcelain-like)

• Often finer detail than typical Staffordshire

• May bear false factory marks (e.g., pseudo-Dresden, Bow, or Derby)

• Clay is whiter and denser than real Staffordshire, porcelaneous not pottery would tend to ring if tapped and normally marks will be in gold. 

Though 100+ years old, Samson’s work is still reproduction, and not true 19th-century English earthenwar

William Kent (Porcelains) Ltd

The business had been started by William Kent in 1894 producing 'Staffordshire Ware' figures, dogs, flat back ornaments. During the Second World War manufacture ...

Cunningly Mister Kent brought all the old staffordshire moulds so the figure look the same but the potter and glaze painting and in particualr the German gold decoration is very different looking shiney and underglazed as opposed to old item white clear glazed and then painted over the glaze infact you could chip the paint off. 

If in doubt get a reciept stating whats what many dealers just dont know, we do and monitor the whole shop and website throughly all the time. 

Also there is Bowness and Portabllo in Scotland, these are 100 year plus and tend to be larger brown hollow cast, animal often with glass eyes. and mono colour nearly all brown with only painted faces, not reproductions as such but not 19th century originals 

Even Beswick made Staffs dogs. Gerneally if Staffs marked with makers mark will be mid twentieth century copies 

 

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📚 Bonus: Trusted Ways to Check Authenticity

• UV Light: Look for modern adhesives, added stains, or synthetic glaze.

• X-ray fluorescence (XRF): Used by museums to detect chemical composition—real gilding contains gold traces; fakes often use brass or foil.

• Auction catalogues & reference books: Titles like Pugh's Staffordshire Portrait Figures or Harding's volumes remain gold standard.

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🏁 Final Word

A real Staffordshire figure speaks softly: it’s charming, flawed, imperfect, and a little aged—like a letter from the 1800s. A fake shouts at you—bright, loud, and trying too hard.

Use your eye, your instinct, and your research. And remember: the bookies may have you sometimes, but no Samson faker ever should.

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