Original Cover-Up
A gold foil coverup on a plate, normal view.
(Image by Marty Powers)
Coverup, also Coverup Transfer, is a term often used in connection with a particular type of mark. Initially used only by commercial porcelain decorators, it was later adapted for a variety of purposes. In order to understand its origin, it is necessary to know that various manufacturers had asked for some form of protection for their trademarks and designs, because until then many decorators had simply placed their own marks next to those of the original creator.
The manufacturers argued that such branding could be misconstrued as a sign of affiliation and therefore had to be stopped, as only licensed distributors and/or retailers were granted such a privilege. As a side effect, the manufacturers also hoped to counter the growing number of decoration studios that were slowly but surely having a negative impact on sales of factory-decorated items.
As a result of the appeal, a law was passed that forced commercial decorators to obscure or completely hide the marks applied by the original item manufacturers. Initially, studios simply painted a simple gold shape (usually flowers, but also other elements) over the original mark, resulting in simple cover-ups. Later, prefabricated transfers or decals were used to cover the original markings.
Various examples show that both types of masking were not always applied correctly (intentionally or not). Incorrectly sized or too transparent transfers often show enough of the original markings to be easily classified and dated - a bonus for people today, as it makes researching and classifying items much easier.
But this is only half the story: it should always be remembered that masking (especially the transfer version) was not only used by decorators. As the market evolved and changed, various resellers, retailers and importers (authorised or not) used them as often as some manufacturers. To give just one example, Rosenthal used multicolour transfers on some items that were finished in their own art department (e.g. the Royal Ivory series) or on items created for secondary outlets (e.g. Stonegate China).
Many coverup marks were used by undocumented studios or decorators, so it is usually impossible to find out who actually (re)decorated an item. There is a non-destructive and therefore very helpful trick that will at least allow the curious to find out who created the original item, even if it does not tell you the age of the decoration, the origin of the decorator or the affiliation of the company. Again, this only helps to determine the origin and approximate date range of the original item.
Original Cover-Up
A gold foil coverup on a plate, normal view.
(Image by Marty Powers)
Backlighted Cover-Up
Same coverup in front of a strong light source; the original producer mark is visible ...
(Image by Marty Powers)
Reference Example
... and can be compared with existing reference material.
(Image by Jacqueline Kacprzak)
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