Who doesn’t love a hot bowl of soup, right? But what we often overlook is the soup bowl itself! If you have old soup bowls, you might be sipping off a valuable gem worth hundreds to thousands without even realizing it. For instance, one rare 15th-century Chinese soup bowl was bought at an auction for an eye-popping price of $700,000!
Vintage soup bowls and tureens are one of the most collectible dinnerware items collectors are ready to pay insane amounts for. Want to know if your antique soup bowl is worth money? Scroll down to learn everything from identifying rare bowls to valuing them!
Identifying Authentic Vintage Soup Bowls (Key Details to Spot)
Soup bowls have been a part of household dinnerware for centuries. With the evolution of craftsmanship and civilization, the soup bowls also evolved regarding the materials, designs, sizes, and shapes.
These changes now play a viral role as signs to identify whether an antique soup bowl is authentic or not. Here are the key identifiers of old soup bowls:
Styles & Design
First things first, for a soup bowl to be antique, it must be at least 100 years old; pieces younger than 100 years old are considered vintage. But how will you know the age of a soup bowl?
Like many dinnerware items, soup bowls have also undergone drastic changes in terms of styles and design over time. And these styles are one of the best identifiers of an antique or vintage soup bowl.
1. Victorian Style Bowls (1830s to 1900s)
Antique soup bowls produced prior to the 1900s often feature Victorian-inspired designs that take inspiration from romanticism and heavy ornamentation. These bowls often feature hand-painted sceneries of people, nature, and domestic lives in vibrant colors.
2 Art Deco Bowls (1920s-1930s)
Vintage soup bowls produced during the Art Deco era are easily identified by designs commonly featuring simple and elegant patterns, geometric shapes, and clean lines in bold colors with metallic (gold/silver) accents.
Moreover, these bowls are made of luxurious materials, such as fine china and porcelain.
3. Mid-Century Modern Bowls (1940s-1960s)
If a vintage soup bowl showcases Mid-century modern design, it can be dated back to the 1940s to the 1960s. This design features simple and minimally ornamented patterns, like clean lines and checks on functional material like porcelain or earthenware.
However, it’s also to be noted that not all mid-century modern designs are simple; some are extravagant with their vibrant and solid colors, bold and graphic patterns, and organic designs.
4. Modern Bowls (1970s to present)
Starting roughly from the 1970s, the construction of soup bowls focused more on practicality and functionality. As for the designs, they range from plain and simple novelty designs to painted nature-inspired designs.
Moreover, soup bowls featuring drip glazes in brown, yellow, red, and orange tones became quite popular in this period.
Modern soup bowls also transitioned from original ceramic and earthenware composition to metal and plastic, which are generally less valuable.
Manufacturers’ Marks & Brand Logos
Most of the manufacturers add a maker’s mark, stamp, or label, often found on the underside of the bowl. These markings, most commonly the brand’s logo or name, can help identify a bowl’s origin and manufacturing time period, hence, age.
For instance, antique Meissen soup bowls may have the crossed blue swords (hand-painted underglaze) mark, while the older Wedgwood bowls may show an impressed “WEDGWOOD ENGLAND” mark.
In some cases, manufacturers may also add unique markings to specific lines or patterns. Identifying these marks can help you identify the pattern, which will further help date the bowl, since most patterns were only produced for a limited period.
Lastly, you may find some number codes on the bottom of vintage soup bowls, indicating the production year, number of items in a limited edition line, or size. For example, Sèvres soup bowls often feature a letter along with their brand mark, indicating the manufacturing year.
What Makes a Vintage Soup Valuable? (3 Key Factors)
1. Rarity & Brand Value
The rarer a soup bowl, the more valuable it is. Generally, limited edition soup bowls, or those featuring a discontinued or experimental pattern, or produced for a limited time or in small numbers, are considered rare.
For instance, the Fiesta cream soup bowl is common in yellow color but is rare in Medium Green because it was discontinued shortly after its release.
Similarly, bowls from renowned brands are more sought-after than modern brands or unbranded pieces. Some of the most renowned manufacturers whose soup bowls command premiums today are:
- Wedgwood
- Royal Doulton
- Sevres
- Meissen
- Noritake
- Fiesta
Some brands also made exclusive soup bowls with handles and mugs with recipes printed on them. Ljungberg’s handled soup bowls are a great example. These feature the ingredients and recipe on opposite sides along with vibrant lobster motifs.
2. Materials Used
The material of a soup bowl not only indicates its age and origin, but also significantly impacts its value. Over the years, many materials have been used by different manufacturers to make soup bowls.
Let’s learn about the most common vintage soup bowl materials, their characteristics, and worth.
Ceramic and Porcelain Bowls
Porcelain and ceramic soup bowls are considered one of the most prominent examples, fetching up to $1,000 for single pieces. These bowls are often crisp or slightly bluish white.
Porcelain bowls were commonly produced from the late 19th to mid-20th century, often featuring hand-painted patterns, sceneries, or floral designs with gold gilding.
Porcelain bowls from renowned brands or with a rare, limited edition pattern can fetch up to $100 to $5,000 per piece, depending on size and condition. A rare large 4-quart Herend Cornucopia Soup Tureen with Bird Handle sold for $3,990 on eBay!
Some other notable examples of antique porcelain soup bowls are the Meissen Blue Onion Soup Bowls, Limoges Hand-Painted Porcelain Soup Bowls, and Royal Copenhagen Flora Danica Soup Bowls.
Stoneware Soup Bowls
These bowls were made of thicker, coarser ceramic and were primarily popular in the Mid-century Modern era. These can be identified by their speckled surface and hand-glazed finishes.
Popular brands that produced stoneware soup bowls include McCoy, Roseville, and Pfaltzgraff.
Generally, vintage stoneware soup bowls fetch $20–$100 per bowl. Original and marked hand-painted pieces can fetch up to $500 or more.
Depression Glass Soup Bowls
Depression glass soup bowls were mass-produced from the 1920s to the 1940s. They featured some intricate pressed glass matters, including hobnail, scroll, and floral patterns. Federal Glass, Jeannette Glass, Hazel Atlas, and Anchor Hocking are some of the pioneers of depression glass items.
As for soup bowls, some notable examples to look for are: Anchor Hocking’s Mayfair Open Rose soup bowls, pink Cherry Blossom soup bowls, and Cabbage Rose pink depression soup bowls.
Common vintage depression glass soup bowls typically sell for $15–$50 per bowl, while rare colors or patterns can fetch up to $100–$300.
Silver Soup Bowls
Silver soup bowls were made as a luxurious dining accessory for wealthy households. These generally come in two types: silver-plated or solid sterling silver bowls. Among these, silver bowls are more valuable than silver-plated ones.
Authentic antique silver soup bowls often feature engraved monograms, scrolls, crests, or floral details. Besides, bowls marked “925,” which is a silver purity mark, are considered authentic and valuable.
Today, Sterling silver bowls can sell for $300–$3,000+ per bowl, depending on size, weight, and the brand. For instance, this Tiffany & Co. 8-Pint Sterling silver soup tureen brought a stunning price of $4,500 on eBay!
Stainless Steel Bowls
These bowls became popular in the mid-20th century due to their durability and low price. To one-up the functionality, some companies also produced double-walled soup bowls that keep the soup hot for a longer time.
3. Size and Condition
Generally, larger soup bowls or tureens fetch higher returns than smaller ones, especially if made of higher quality material like porcelain or silver. However, even small soup bowls with rare or discontinued patterns can fetch decent prices.
Condition also directly impacts the value of vintage soup bowls. Bowls without any chips, cracks, crazing, or excessive wear and tear generally reach higher values. But remember, signs of aging like patina or metal bowls and minor scratches due to use indicate authenticity.
Also, collectors may appreciate some signs of wear and tear for very rare pieces.
5 Rarest Vintage Soup Bowls to Find Now!
If you have a collection of old soup bowls, find these 5 rarest pieces! They are fetching insane prices ranging from hundreds to thousands today.
1. Chinese Porcelain Famille Rose Bowl
This rare Chinese porcelain soup bowl belongs to the popular line “Famille Rose” (French for “pink family”). This design style originated in China during the Kangxi period (1661–1722), and became the hallmark of the Qing Dynasty craftsmanship.
The design features floral patterns, birds, and scenes of Chinese domestic life in vibrant colors, like white, golden, greens, yellows, but mainly pink. One of the few examples sold on eBay for $2,650 in January 2025.
2. Minton Maximilian Soup Bowl
This is a super rare soup bowl made exclusively by English ceramics manufacturer Minton for Austrian Emperor Maximilian I (Ferdinand Maximilian) of Mexico. He was an Austrian archduke, the emperor of the Second Mexican Empire from 1864 to 1867.
This bowl reflects the luxurious European nobility in the mid-19th century, with its elegant design featuring Heraldic symbols on fine china. This rare piece sold for a whopping $2,500 on eBay.
3. Fiesta Covered Onion Soup Bowl
Homer Laughlin China Company’s Fiesta soup bowls are highly popular glazed ceramic bowls in red, cobalt blue, green, yellow, ivory, turquoise, and later hues.
This one here is a yellow bowl featuring the line’s distinctive round, ribbed body with two small loop handles and a lid with knob handle, that sold for $875 on eBay.
Collector’s Tip: Authentic pre-1973 bowls may have an impressed “Fiesta HLC USA” mark on the bottom.
4. Johnson Brothers “Friendly Village” Handled Soup Bowls & Saucers
Just like its name, this bowl features a hand-painted traditional English countryside scene in green, brown, red, and white tones and two looped handles with matching saucers. This pattern was produced from 1953 to 2003, making it collectible today.
5. Wedgwood Florentine Soup Bowl
This Wedgwood soup bowl features one of the company’s most popular patterns, Florentine, known for its classical, intricate scrolls on the border on a white background. This 1930s pattern was released in several colors, with black and turquoise being highly sought-after today.
