ISLE of Wight author, retired lecturer and art dealer, Gerald Davison, has released a new book on Chinese ceramics ­— his fourth volume.

His new publication, Marks on Chinese Ceramics, is on sale now, and people are already auctioning them on ebay for upwards of £300.

Inscriptions and marks of varying types appeared on Chinese pottery and porcelain with increasing frequency from the Tang Dynasty through to the Republic in the early years of the 20th century.

Gerald says the book is the only reference work in any language to deal exhaustively with the entire range of diverse marks.

Isle of Wight County Press: Gerald Davison's new book, Marks on Chinese Ceramics.

From imperial marks to the many ‘hall’ and auspicious marks used by scholars, collectors, potters and artists, this is the essential new book for those with an interest in Chinese ceramics.

This new 400 page hardbound publication brings to a conclusion Gerald's 60-year long interest in a rather opaque and often intriguing aspect of Chinese art.

Gerald's older publications have fetched many hundreds of pounds and have at times been advertised for thousands.

"Hopefully, it's a bubble my latest book will prick, as it makes my earlier books obsolete," said Gerald.

"I have mainly sold my books though international distributors and museums.

"This time I will sell only online, with all of the books dispatched worldwide from the Island ­— adding to Nicholson Road's sorting office workload at 1kg per book!

"I was cautious about the size of the fist print run. I was not expecting the response we have had so far.

"I had 250 copies in 30 cartons brought over by Hovertravel. I put them on our new website with no announcement and they all sold in a week.

"Hurriedly, I brought over another 38 cartons with 300 books and over half have sold already.

"The bulk of the sales have been to the USA, followed by Europe, the UK and Asia.

"I expect it helped that I have been out of print for the past three years but I will be now looking at a very urgent reprint."

With copies rapidly selling out, and prices inflated on ebay, time is of the essence if you want to add one of these bespoke books to your collection.

For more information, and to purchase a copy, visit www.chinesemarks.com/