How do I know the Polish Pottery I am buying is a Unikat piece? Unikat polish pottery are pieces which are very intricate in design, made with six and eight colors, and signed by the artist. These pieces are called Signature Patterns or Unikat, which is a Polish word meaning "unique". These pieces are not actually signed by the artist.
The artists who paint signature patterns have extensive training in polish pottery art. It is important to note that there could be the same design number on a piece, but painted several different ways by different artists.
The signature is located on the bottom of the piece and generally will indicate the following:
*The word "UNIKAT".
*A "Number", which is the Pattern Number.*The Artist's Name with an Impressed Signature or stamped signature of the artist who designed the particular pattern .
*Not all Unikat pieces are limited editions. Sometimes there is an indication of "Ltd Ed" for Limited Edition.
*Not all Unikat pieces are limited editions. Sometimes there is an indication of "Ltd Ed" for Limited Edition.
*The factory stamp or insignia Stamped Mark.
*Impressed mark indicating Hand Made in Poland.
*Impressed mark indicating Hand Made in Poland.
*At the bottom is an alpha-numeric code, which are the initials of the person who painted the piece of polish pottery. Next to the initials are a number. Each artist has a unique number assigned, to differentiate between artists with the same initials. Examples of these codes are: M.O. 50 or T.L. 78.
Does this mean that all other polish pottery that is not Unikat is not high quality? Of course not, many, many pieces of polish pottery, which are not signed by the artist are beautifully designed and very high quality.
There are a number of factories in Boleslawiec, Poland that manufacture Polish pottery. The highest quality Polish Pottery is made by Ceramika Artystyczna. Their craftsmanship has been internationally recognized year after year. They employ the most talented artists in the region who hand-paint each piece of Polish pottery using brushes and sponges from the Baltic Sea. Another large manufacturer is Zaklady Ceramiczne. The smaller ones include Manufaktura, Wiza, Millenium, WR, Dana, Andy, Cerfar, Cergor and many more.
