Miniature handheld digital optical microscopy, micro-energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were used to systematically analyze ceramic samples from the Guangdong folk art museum in order to understand their manufacturing technique. The analysis indicates that the ceramic bodies all have high SiO2 and low Al2O3 contents. The bodies also have a high content of Fe2O3. The glaze belongs to high-temperature calcium type. Wood ashes are likely to have been used as a flux in the samples. ZnO was found in the glaze. In the middle and later periods of Qing Dynasty, the firing temperature of the ceramics was higher than 1100[degree]C, and in the Republic of China period the firing temperature was even higher that 1200[degree]C. These analytical results provide useful information regarding the manufacture of decorative ridge ceramic figurines from Shiwan, Guangdong Province.