Most Limoges porcelain sells for about $5-40 a piece as of October 2026, and a Haviland dinner service of 50 to 100 pieces typically brings about $150-600 at auction, often less. Hand-painted plates bring about $20-100. The pieces that bring real money are professionally decorated 19th-century vases, game plates, fish sets and chargers with fine signed painting, which run from a few hundred dollars into the low thousands.
"Limoges" is a place, not a maker. Dozens of factories and decorating shops worked in and around the French city from the late 1700s, and most of their output went to America as tableware. So the word on the bottom tells you where the porcelain was made. The rest of the marks tell you who made it, who decorated it, roughly when, and therefore what it is worth.
Quick answer
- Limoges dinnerware, Haviland and others: about $5-25 a piece; full services about $150-600.
- Amateur hand-painted pieces on Limoges blanks (about 1880 to 1920): about $20-100.
- Professionally decorated vases, game plates, fish sets and chargers: about $100-500, the best signed pieces more.
- Modern Limoges boxes marked "Peint main": most about $30-150 resale; scarce designs roughly $150-400.
- Boxes and plates marked only "Limoges" with no maker, especially with decals, are often not French and sell for $5-20.
How do I identify and value Limoges, step by step?
- Turn it over and count the marks. Many Limoges pieces have two: an underglaze factory mark, usually green, applied before the glaze firing, and an overglaze decorator mark, usually red, blue, brown or gold, on top of the glaze. Write down both.
- Read the factory mark. It names who made the white porcelain body. Common ones are Haviland & Co. (H & Co.), Theodore Haviland, T&V (Tressemann & Vogt), GDA (Gérard, Dufraisseix & Abbot), J.P.L. (Jean Pouyat), D & Co. (Delinières), W.G. & Co. (William Guérin), A.L. (Lanternier), Bernardaud and Raynaud.
- Read the decorator mark. It names who painted, printed or gilded the piece. It may be the same firm, a separate Limoges decorating shop, or an American importer or retailer such as Bawo & Dotter's "Elite" or Borgfeldt's "Coronet".
- Look for "France". According to the dealer guide at Lion and Unicorn, a mark with "France" points to export after 1891, when US rules required the country of origin; "Made in France" is generally later. A mark with "Limoges" and no country can be earlier, or not French at all.
- Decide how it was decorated. Look closely with a magnifier. Transfer prints and decals show tiny dots or perfectly even lines. Hand painting shows brush strokes, shading and slight variation. Many factory pieces have a printed outline filled in by hand, which is normal.
- Check for a signature. A factory artist's signature in the painting, often on the front, is a plus. A painter's name and date on the back, with no decorator mark, usually means an amateur painted a white blank at home.
- Check condition. Hold plates to the light for hairline cracks, check rims for chips and look at the gold. Worn gilding is the most common problem.
- Price from sold results for the same factory, decorator and type of piece. Replacement retail prices are much higher than what a seller receives.
What is Limoges worth?
Sold ranges as of October 2026. Dealer and replacement prices run higher.
| Type | Typical marks | Typical sold range |
|---|---|---|
| Dinnerware, single pieces | Haviland, Theodore Haviland, GDA, T&V, others | About $5-25 |
| Dinner service, 50 to 100 pieces | Haviland or Theodore Haviland | About $150-600, often less |
| Serving pieces (tureens, platters, covered dishes) | Any major factory | About $25-100 |
| Amateur hand-painted plates and bowls | Green factory mark only, painter's signature | About $20-100 |
| Professionally decorated game and fish plates, per plate | Factory plus decorator, artist signed | About $40-150 |
| Professionally decorated vases, chargers, jardinieres | Factory plus decorator, artist signed | About $100-500; exceptional more |
| American-decorated Limoges blanks (for example Pickard) | Limoges factory mark plus Pickard mark | Roughly $75-400, by size and painter |
| Modern Limoges boxes, "Peint main" | "Limoges France" plus decorator | About $30-150 |
| Scarce or figural Limoges boxes | Named decorator, limited editions | Roughly $150-400 |
| Imported lookalike boxes and plates | "Limoges" only, often decals | About $5-20 |
The everyday numbers surprise people because Limoges sounds like luxury, and in 1890 it was. But Haviland alone made so much tableware for American families that an estimated 60,000 patterns exist, according to the company history on Wikipedia, and only a fraction are even catalogued. Sets that cost a month's wages then often sell today for a few dollars a piece.
What do the main Limoges factory marks mean?
The factory mark dates the porcelain body. These are the ones found most often in American homes.
| Mark | Maker | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| H & Co. in green, or "Haviland France" | Haviland & Co., founded 1842 | The biggest exporter to the US. The firm folded in 1931 and the name was revived after 1941. |
| Overglaze "Haviland & Co. Limoges" in red or other colors | Haviland decorating mark | Shows Haviland also decorated the piece; often with a retailer's name. |
| "Theodore Haviland Limoges France" | Theodore Haviland, from 1893 | A separate firm founded by David Haviland's son. |
| "Ch. Field Haviland" with GDA | Gérard, Dufraisseix & Abbot | Successors to the Charles Field Haviland works; very common on dinnerware. |
| T&V | Tressemann & Vogt | Common on late 19th and early 20th century dinnerware and blanks. |
| J.P.L., D & Co., W.G. & Co., A.L. | Pouyat, Delinières, Guérin, Lanternier | Other major factories, mostly tableware and blanks. |
| Bernardaud, Raynaud | Still in business | Modern pieces are well made and sell well new, modestly used. |
| "Elite", "Coronet" and similar | American importers' decorating marks | Often on game plates and chargers decorated in Limoges for the US market. |
The Haviland & Co. dates on Wikipedia are the clearest: David Haviland founded the firm in 1842, Theodore opened his own works in 1893, the original firm folded in 1931, and Theodore's son William bought back the Haviland & Co. name in 1941.
Hand painted or factory decorated: what is the difference in value?
There are three groups, and they price very differently.
- Factory decorated tableware. Transfer prints, decals and gilding applied at the factory or a Limoges decorating shop. This is most Limoges dinnerware, and it sells as tableware.
- Professionally hand painted pieces. Painted by skilled factory or studio artists, often signed on the front. Game plates with birds, fish sets, large chargers and vases with roses or portraits. This is where the value lives, and the quality of the painting decides the price.
- Amateur hand painted blanks. Between about 1880 and 1920, china painting was a popular hobby in America, and white Limoges blanks were sold for it. These pieces have only the green factory mark on the back, no decorator mark, and often a name and date in paint. Some are lovely; most sell for about $20-100 as decorative plates.
A pointer worth knowing: if the painting looks crude but the back carries a top decorator's mark, be suspicious. If the painting is excellent and there is no decorator mark, it may be the work of a skilled amateur or an American studio.
How do you spot fake Limoges boxes and reproductions?
Limoges boxes, the small hinged porcelain trinket boxes, became popular collectibles from the 1980s, and lookalikes followed. Genuine boxes are made and painted in the Limoges region, and "Porcelaine de Limoges" is now a protected geographical indication in France, which requires manufacture and decoration in the Haute-Vienne.
- Read the base. A genuine modern box usually reads "Limoges France", "Peint main" (hand painted) and a decorator's name or initials, such as Rochard, Chamart, Artoria, Parry Vieille or La Gloriette.
- Look at the painting. Real boxes are hand painted. Decals show dots under magnification and look too even.
- Check the metal. Hinges and clasps on real boxes fit neatly and close firmly. Loose, cheap-looking hardware is a common sign of a copy.
- Be wary of a sticker only. A gold foil "Limoges" sticker with no painted or printed mark is not evidence of anything.
- Look at the price. A box sold new for under $20 is not a hand-painted French box.
For older pieces, the same rule applies. A sharp, bright mark on a piece with poor decoration, or a base with no wear on a piece said to be 120 years old, deserves a second look.
Condition and what changes the price
| Factor | Effect on price |
|---|---|
| No chips, cracks or wear, bright gold | Full value |
| Worn gold rims or handles | Deduct about 30-50 percent |
| Chip on a rim | Deduct about 50 percent or more |
| Hairline crack | Most of the value gone on tableware |
| Restoration on a decorative piece | Deduct about 40-70 percent |
| Artist signature on the front, fine painting | Adds substantially |
| Box with original packaging and papers | Adds about 10-30 percent |
| Complete matched service with serving pieces | Sells better than a partial set |
A worked example
Say you inherit a dinner service with small pink roses and gold rims. The plates have a green "H & Co." mark under the glaze and a red overglaze mark reading "Haviland & Co. Limoges" with a department store name. That is Haviland & Co. porcelain, decorated by Haviland, sold through an American retailer, likely before 1931. You count 64 pieces including a soup tureen and two platters; the gold is worn on the plates. At auction this is a $150-400 sale, with the tureen and platters carrying most of the interest. Now say a single plate in the same box shows a painted pheasant, a signature in the corner of the painting, and a "Coronet" mark. That is a professionally decorated game plate, and it alone may sell for $40-150.
Common mistakes
- Treating "Limoges" as a maker. It is a region. The factory and decorator marks decide the value.
- Pricing from replacement retail. Replacement services sell single Haviland pieces at retail; sellers receive a fraction.
- Assuming hand painted means valuable. Amateur painting on blanks is common. Quality and subject decide.
- Running gold-trimmed porcelain through the dishwasher. It strips the gold, the biggest preventable loss.
- Trusting a "Limoges" sticker. Many imported boxes and plates carry the word without being French.
- Ignoring Schleiger numbers. Haviland collectors identify patterns by Schleiger number, and matching it helps find buyers.
How WorthPic reads Limoges photos
WorthPic runs on the newest and most capable AI model available, tuned for exactly this kind of identification. From a clear photo of the base it reads the factory mark, the decorator mark, their colors and any "France", retailer or artist wording, which together place the factory, decorator and era. From the front it reads the type of piece, the pattern, whether the decoration is printed or painted, the quality of the painting, any signature and visible condition. It then gives an honest value range for that factory, decoration and form, with a most likely figure.
What it cannot know from photos is a hairline crack that only shows against the light, restoration that is hidden under paint, or whether a mark is a later addition. When something needs checking by hand, it says so. It identifies and estimates. It does not authenticate, grade or appraise.
What to photograph
- The base, sharp and straight on, with both marks readable.
- The front in daylight, filling the frame.
- The painting close up, including any signature.
- The gold rim and any chips close up.
- For boxes, the base, the inside, the hinge and the clasp.
- A group photo of a service, laid out so the count is clear.
When should you get Limoges looked at in person?
A dinner service does not need an appraiser. A few photos and a sold-results check are enough, and our guide to whether old china dishes are worth anything covers selling a set. Large signed vases, fine game and fish sets, portrait plates and anything that might be 18th or early 19th century are worth showing to an auction house with a European ceramics department or a Haviland collectors' group. For help with unfamiliar marks, see how to read pottery marks, and for comparison with another big porcelain exporter, our Noritake value guide.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Haviland & Co.: founding in 1842, Theodore Haviland from 1893, the 1931 closure and 1941 revival, the estimate of 60,000 patterns and the Schleiger numbering system.
- Wikipedia: Limoges porcelain: the 1768 kaolin discovery, production from 1771, and the protected geographical indication.
- Lion and Unicorn: Limoges porcelain value guide: underglaze factory and overglaze decorator marks, the "France" export rule, "Peint main" and signs of copies.