How to Tell if Jingdezhen Porcelain Is Hand-Painted

Introduction Jingdezhen, known as World porcelain capital for over a thousand years, is famous for its exceptional craftsmanship. To make buying and collecting easier, here’s a clear and practical guide to quickly distinguish between three types of porcelain: purely hand-painted, fully decal, and semi-decal (the difference in artistic value between them can be more than tenfold). This will help you recognize genuine Jingdezhen porcelain.

Purely Hand-Painted Porcelain Definition: Artists use brushes to outline, fill in colors, and shade directly on raw porcelain. Every stroke is done by hand, with no printing or machine assistance, so each piece is one of a kind.

How to identify:

Lines are natural and flowing, with variations in thickness and depth, and never look mechanically uniform.

The design has no repeating printed dots; color transitions are smooth and layered.

Every piece is unique—even the smallest details will differ.

The painted surface is smooth and even with the glaze, with no raised or sticker-like feel.

Value: Suitable for art collections, high-end gifts, and heirloom pieces.

Fully Decal Porcelain Definition: Designs are printed onto transfer paper, then applied to the porcelain and fired at high temperature. This is a mass-production method.

How to identify:

Lines look rigid and uniform, lacking the lively feel of brushwork.

Under magnification, you’ll see tiny printed dots or a grid-like texture.

Patterns are exactly the same on every piece.

Edges may show visible seams, misalignments, or slight bumps from the decal.

Value: Everyday use, affordable and widely available.

Semi-Decal (Semi-Hand-Painted) Porcelain Definition: The outlines are applied by decal, but coloring, shading, and detail work are done by hand—a mix of both methods.

How to identify:

Outlines are neat and consistent thanks to the decal.

Coloring and shading show the variation and liveliness of hand-painting.

Some areas show printed dots, but hand-painted parts do not.

The overall effect is between hand-painted and fully decal porcelain.

Value: Mid-range quality, decorative and practical.

Quick 30-Second Identification (using a magnifier or your phone’s camera): Look for uniformity, printed dots, and how the glaze feels to quickly determine how the porcelain was decorated.

1.Uniqueness: For identical patterns in the design, hand-painted pieces always have subtle differences, while decals are completely identical.

2. Line Quality: Hand-painted lines are lively with brushstroke variations, while decals are rigid and uniform.

3. Dot Texture: Decals have visible printing dots, while hand-painted works have none.

We guarantee that all our products are entirely handmade and hand-painted.