You sure have honeybees! If you want to take them out alive the siding have to be removed to get axes to the hive. See if a bee keeper is willing to do the job and how much..$ Konrad

You reading the mark correctly. You know the manufacturer, their location, the time frame that mark was used, and the name of the pattern. What else is there to know? Is there something specific you're looking for? There were thousands of dish patterns made in England from, say, 1850-1950. "Clive" is one of those patterns. It was made by one of hundreds of potters...F. Winkle & Co. Here's a link to some brief info on the company. The link even gives you maps and pictures. I'm stumped on what else you want to know. /tricia Here is a link that might be useful: F. Winkle & Co.

It most likely dates from after 1891 when things made for export had to be marked with the country of origin....because of the 2 characters indicating "nippon". The markings on Japanese porcelain were so casual and varied, and there were so many potteries at that time, I don't believe you will ever find out who made that piece. Some pieces were marked with the decorator, some with the potter some with the one who applied the gold and some with the name of the store where it would be sold....and combinations of these marks. Even if the piece had an early Noritake cherry blossom mark you would not know for sure where it was made....because many potteries used that mark or a variation. Your best ID will be as to style and colors of the piece. I can say roughly the era...late 19th to very early 20th centuries, but a specialist in Nippon ware may be able to give you more info based on the colors used, that chrysanthemum shaped knob at the top and other features. If you are really interested in learning more than an approximate date and made in japan, find a collector or 2 and email them pictures and see what they say. Whoever made it, it's a beautiful piece. Linda C

1920s era. Art Deco influenced floor lamp. It would be worth taking it apart, cleaning it with a very gentle metal cleaner, and looking for manufacturer's names on the class and metal parts. Test it for content: MAGNET sticks = iron, steel plated Magnet does not stick: brass, copper, pot metal, base metal, spelter, bronze, pewter, very rarely silver or gold. SCRATCH TEST: In an inconspicuous place in each piece, make a scratch with a steel knife blade or a metal filePot metal, base metal, spelter, pewter = shiny light grey Brass = bright brassy color Copper - new penny copper color Bronze - brownish color The "pot metal" group were often cast, then plated with bronze to look like expensive bronze castings. Bronze was either cast as bronze or cast and plated with gold for extra expensive work. *Pewter is rare in large pieces because it is very soft, as is copper.