And a bit more on dragonware:
The following is a quote from a website that deals specifically with Dragonware. The site is
http://www.dragonware.com"Dragonware is the term used to describe porcelain items with a raised decoration which depicts an oriental dragon. These items were produced in Japan from the end of the 1800's until the mid 1900's. Over that time period, styles and materials changed dramatically."
Most Dragonware pieces are decorated with moriage which is a type of slip clay that gives the piece a three dimensional appearance.
Lithopnes or Lithophanes (both are actually acceptable) are pictures that are created with the thickness of the porcelain. The pictures show when the porcelain (almost always in the bottom of tea cups) is held up to light. Lithophanes went out of style because of their cost to produce sometime in the late 50's or early sixties and were for the most part discontinued.
Almost all Lithophane tea sets have lustrious inside finishes that are truly beautiful but that finish was created with lead and therefore you should not drink from them.See My Set Here
There are some rules that you can use to determine the quality of the lithophanes:
Quality Level 1: Highest quality. Clear and detailed, with highlights such as lighting effects and subtle strands of hair. A real contrast between the light and dark areas.
Quality Level 2: Good quality. Detail to face and hair, somewhat less defined than level 1 but still distinguishable. Less contrast between light and dark.
Quality Level 3: Low quality. Can hardly tell there is a lithophane present.Minimal detail and almost no contrast between light and dark.
Quality Level 4: Poor quality. Obvious flaws in stamp. (bug eyes or gouging around the rim.
The info at the bottom came from an ebay guide to dragonware.
