Samson
Paris Factory of Esme Samson et cie specialized in copying the styles of 18th Century Chinese Export porcelain and Japanese Imari. It was founded in Paris in the early nineteenth century and are still in operation. Their pieces are collected as antiques in their own right but they are generally made 100 years later then the originals - and in France.
Chelsea, Meissen, Famille Verte, and Chinese export porcelain are some of the wares that have been reproduced by the company.
The firm uses a variety of marks on the reproductions and some of their pieces are not marked at all. Unmarked pieces are often very hard to tell from the original by the enamels only, who seems to have been identical with the Chinese. The weak points are the underglaze blue which usually turns out different then on the originals - usually darker, the paste which lacks any iron impurities and doesn't turn red anywhere - and the glaze, which often shows a distinctive greenish hue where it has pooled.
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