China/Bennington/Lined Crockery
Chinas are handcrafted marbles with a rich history dating back to the 1840s through the late 1800s German handmade era. Crafted from a durable whitish bisque material harder than clay, they boast intricate hand-painted designs featuring geometric or concentric lines, rings, and sometimes leaf-like or track patterns. Unlike glass marbles, chinas rarely chip, but their paint may fade over time, influencing their condition.
They are available in two main varieties: glazed and unglazed, depending on whether a clear coating was applied during the kiln-hardening process. Unique chinas include bullseyes, intricate plaid-like geometric patterns, and leaf sprays. Thicker-lined bullseye chinas are known as donut bullseyes, while completely filled-in bullseyes are older varieties from the 1850s to 1860s and are seldom seen.
In general, the more intricate the painted detail, the more collectible the marble becomes. Rare chinas feature floral designs. Exceptionally rare specimens include Checkerboard Chinas, typically glazed and measuring about 13/16 inch, covered with alternating squares of different filled-in colors, a rarity in collectors’ circles. Ultra-rare Scenic Chinas feature pinwheel leaf sprays at each pole and scenes painted around the equator, usually found in the size range of 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 inches, most often unglazed.
Other non-glass handmade marbles from the China era include Lined Crockery marbles, characterized by white bisque with blue and/or green lines, with rare variants featuring pink lines. Benningtons are clay marbles glazed with blue or brown glaze, displaying characteristic “eyes” where marbles touched during firing, with exceptions such as larger examples or fancy variations with white bases and colored spots.
Common clays were the most prevalent among children’s marble games, sometimes enhanced with dye, paint, or foil wrapping, all carrying little value. Limestone marbles, hand-hewn and ground round in European grist mills, resemble common clays but are heavier and colder, often exhibiting sedimentation rings or flat spots from their origins, yet are undervalued despite their age and craftsmanship.