Old Chinese? Porcelain Dog Figurals

[Stillwaters]

I think they are Chinese, pretty sure? I was thinking they could be from the time when China was making export stuff for the  European market. But I could just be an idiot. Does anyone have any suggestions on what they could be? Are they even Chinese?

[weip]

The dogs could be a Japanese breed, not sure though. The characters on the bottom say "imitation antique"...

[Stillwaters]

Hmm... They do look old to me, maybe they were "imitation antiques" a long time ago, which would still make them old? Grasping at straws here...

Thanks for ID'ing that mark for me Peter, that will come in REAL handy when I'm out hunting. Are you positive that's what those characters say? The bottoms of the feet are really dirty and they give off an "antique" feeling...

Thanks for your time Peter

[weip]

>>are really dirty and they give off an "antique" feeling...

Dirt and damage are probably the features that most newcomers to collecting (of Chinese antiques) fall for.  And to "feel" that an item is antique does almost guarantee that we get a fake or new item. Believe me, most collectors have been through that when starting out - that includes me. :-)

[Stillwaters]

Yeah I understand, you're right. I do all areas of antiques though, so I do have somewhat of a feeling for age. Wondering why would they tell you straight-up its an "imitation antique" and then go through the trouble of dirtying the feet....

[weip]

Doesn't look as if it was intentionally made dirty. The dirt applied intentionally is usually darker, more uniform, and cannot be removed.