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Imari Heavily decorated Japanese porcelain with overglaze enamels and gilding. Popular in the first half of the 18th century.

Imari Chinese Export "Imari" Porcelain Punch Bowl, Qianlong Reign (1736-1795), decorated in underglaze blue, iron red, green enamel and gilding with a central spray of peonies, the exterior decorated in peonies, lilies, pomegranates and birds, with a silver metal rim, 11" diameter. St. Charles Gallery-New Orleans 05/09 ESTIMATE 400 - 700

Immediate Cash Liquidation Market Level Immediate Cash Liquidation Market Level - This represents a market in which similar property is regularly sold, for immediate cash, to willing buyers within a very limited time. The buyers typically are antique dealers, auctioneers, auction houses, second hand dealers, jobbers, wholesalers. This represents a bargain or distress market level. ASA Int'l Personal Property Committee

incised A pattern or carving produced by cutting into a stone, wood, or other hard surface. The reverse of relief carving.

inclusion Naturally occurring in a gemstone. Source: Antiques Price Guide 2004, Judith Miller ISBN -7894-9550-3

inlay Form of decoration used in furniture and ceramics, inlay is when part of a surface is removed and replaced with a contrasting material.

intaglio Cut or engraved decoration on glass. Source: Antiques Price Guide 2004, Judith Miller ISBN -7894-9550-3

intaglio A decorative technique in which a design is cut into a hard surface. Intaglio is also the Italian word for carving.

Irish Dresden Fifty years after Boettger first invented porcelain in Meissen, porcelain was re-invented by Georg Heinrich Macheleid around 1760 in Thuringia, Germany. Although intelligent, Macheleid suffered from Anthropophobia and was characterized as eccentric. Native to the Thuringian region, Macheleid is from the village of Cursdorf near Oberweissbach. He was born a carpenters son on the 16th of October 1723. Macheleid studied theology in Jena then worked as a cleric in the principality of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt until approximately 1755, at which time he began his work developing porcelain. He worked in the village of Sitzendorf in 1757 with locally found materials that produced unsatisfactory results. Macheleid discovered a quarry near Koenigssee, which yielded resources producing exceptional porcelain. He petitioned the prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, Johann Friedrich, for the exclusive right to build a porcelain factory within his principality, which he was granted so long as no other manufacturer in the region was able to produce superior porcelain. The Volkstedt factory, established in 1762, was granted the advantages of a continuous supply of firewood, tax exemption for four years, religious freedom, little governmental intervention and the right to produce enough foodstuffs on factory grounds to become self-sufficient. Although the early years were difficult, by the late 18th century the company was producing a high volume of quality merchandise and earned a position of prominence as a porcelain manufacturer throughout Europe. The exclusive privilege granted by Prince Friedrich was revoked in 1832 and other porcelain factories were established in Thuringia. The Volkstedt factory was completely destroyed by allied bombings during World War II, however Anton Müller’s niece Johanna Saar salvaged some master moulds and the factory was rebuilt in 1945. The Saar family ultimately relocated the operation to Ireland, opening a factory in Dromcolliher, Limerick known as Irish Dresden. The operation continues to this day. Source: http://www.architecturals.net

Irish Furniture During the 18th century, very few Irish families were wealthy enough to afford luxurious furnishings. With middle-class demand virtually non-existent, almost all Irish furniture was of exceptional quality and crafted exclusively for the tiny aristocratic population. Though talented 18th-century Irish craftsmen produced only a relatively few pieces, their work is considered among the finest ever. Today, Irish furniture is highly sought after by collectors, though few pieces are found on the market.

Ironstone china Created to imitate porcelain, Ironstone china was first made in England in 1813 by Charles James Mason of Staffordshire and was known as "Mason's Ironstone." Ironstone china is very hard, opaque and pale-bodied.