Founded by Hungarian sportswear designer George Zoltan Lefton, Lefton China of Chicago, Illinois, imported porcelain decorative objects such as figurines and head vases, as well as kitchen wares such as cookie jars and salt-and-pepper shakers, from postwar Japan.

Lefton died in 1996 and the Lefton Company was sold in 2001 after 60 years of producing some of America’s most popular collectibles and kitchenware. Production under the Lefton China label continues today.

Lefton is a mark found on pottery, porcelain, glass, and other wares imported by the Geo. Zoltan Lefton Company. The company started in 1941. For more information, explore our identification guides for head vases, decorative ceramics, other pottery and porcelain, and glass.

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Identify antique porcelain figures by finding the maker’s mark. The mark is usually stamped on the bottom of a porcelain piece. The maker’s mark tells the collector what person or company produced the figure, which also gives insight into when, where and how it was made.

The easiest way to identify porcelain figurines as opposed to earthenware or stoneware figurines is to examine the piece. Porcelain figurines have a delicate, fragile quality to them and are somewhat translucent, whereas, stoneware or earthenware figurines are not.

What Are Bisque and Porcelain? As mentioned, bisque is unglazed porcelain. Porcelain is created from a paste of clays and water which is molded and then fired at temperatures above 2300 F. If there is no color added to the bisque and it is left white and unglazed, the doll is sometimes referred to as a “parian” doll.

Biscuit (also known as bisque) refers to any pottery that has been fired in a kiln without a ceramic glaze. In situations where two firings are used, the first firing is called the biscuit firing (or “bisque firing”), and the second firing is called the glost firing, or glaze firing if the glaze is fired at that stage.

You can’t use unglazed bisque for food, drink, vases or other purposes where it contacts liquid because it is porous. You need to glaze bisque to use it in those ways. If a luster is placed, it is not food safe. Bisque that is intended only to be ornamental may be painted with acrylic paint and not fired.

Is bisque firing essential, or can you miss out this step in the firing process? The two-step firing process, with a bisque fire followed by a glaze fire, is common practice. However, it is not essential to do a separate bisque fire.

It is thought the name is derived from Biscay, as in Bay of Biscay, but the crustaceans are certainly bis cuites “twice cooked” (by analogy to a biscuit) for they are first sautéed lightly in their shells, then simmered in wine and aromatic ingredients, before being strained, followed by the addition of cream.

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The word “ceramics” comes from the Greek word keramikos meaning “of pottery” or “for pottery”. The term “bisque” is of French origin and literally means “Twice baked”. Ceramic bisque is not twice baked, only until after the second glaze firing.