Posted 10 years ago
Braider
(6 items)
30 years ago I spied this pretty little vase in a cabinet among some apparent junk. I think the seller thought that just because the top isn't square it was inferior and probably not worth much. Bought it for $10 or $20. It stands 6" tall. After years of checking Ebay found only two other matching patterns and it isn't in any of Ms. Van Patten's books. The vase has the blue leaf mark and the trinket box (from Ebay and much brighter) has the M in a wreath.
These are so beautiful and fresh!
Great pieces of porcelain.
M in a wreath is commonly used in Japanese porcelain or china. It has lated dated the words Nippon or Made in Japan and just Japan.
Noritake commonly use this mark.Work with just the M in wreath and no reference to Japan is commonly exported work just after the war where obviously Americans would not buy anything with reference to Japan
The whole world post the 20. and 30's as you probably know make copies of Clarice Cliffs House and Bridge - for fine examples see her work
http://www.bonhams.com/auctions/17044/#/MR0_page=2&MR0_length=10&MR0_category=list&m0=0
Moorland, Wedgwood they all made reproductions but again yours isnt this.
Yours are lovely pieces and my view is Japan late 40' to 50's but until I look further I could be wrong...
I've got one further question for you, as at first I couldn't see any dots but your pictures very clearly....
In the gold are there any raised dots ? If so it's def Nippon and it's called Moriage style. Coincidentally the M may stand for that I've never been able to work that out. To see a load of similar items to yours with similar scenes just type in moriage vase in Google and hit the images tab or search in ebay. I would imagine there are loads.
Once again I reference you back to Clarice Cliff style of House and Bridge and Japanese...potentially Noritake. I hope this helps...they are very beautiful in deed....
The vase is marked with the blue leaf backstamp which places it probably before 1900. The dish has the M in a wreath and this piece seems newer because it's lighter but the owner may have taken better care of it. "Noritake" and "Japan" were also used in the Nippon era, and as Ms. Van Patten writes: "may have been possibly been used after 1921".
One key to the age of a Nippon piece is the presence of moriage decoration. Early pieces had beautiful work. Reproductions have some but not as well done. And the imperfections such a slightly lopsided top wouldn't be in a newer piece. I used to belong to the International Nippon Collector's Club and have been a collector for (ugh!) 40 years now. Don't get me started on reproductions!!! I learned my lesson 30 years ago and swore never again. (But maybe that was Scarlet Ohara.) When I get a few minutes later I'll post a lovely moriage vase. The time involved making this had to be looooong.
I would also like to ask anyone who has seen this pattern to post here. I've only seen three pieces, two which I have and another I lost the auction on Ebay.
Anne, that was an amazing site. She was truly an artist; I just glanced through the pieces. I recognized the house/barn motif. I wonder if she was inspired by the Nippon pattern?
Ooops, just posted and found you had posted another comment. Yes, there is moriage on the handles and they are in perfect condition. In fact when buying Nippon with moriage you need to look for any missing spots. And when cleaning a piece you need to be very careful.
The M stands for "Morimura". The two brothers came to America and started selling and eventually their business became Noritake.
Is it certain that it's 1900's?
And yes Braider I am aware of the Moriage detail which is why I asked the question.
And I a bit confused, I thought you were looking to find out who made these items. Which is why I posted all the above information...very confused.
And asking if Clarice cliff copied someone. Clarice Cliff is probably the most copied forged and faked artist in pottery history. She was a leader in style of the times. Every artist at some stage produces a picture with a house . I am quite keen to see your items with definitive dates.Most CC items can only be purchased if you see your bank manager first. There are a lot of reason why this is, you can read up on her your self if you like but in the main one woman alone is to blame - Jerry Hall! I'm sure all the Clarice fans will appreciate that remark and agree.
I am fortunate enough to own some items. Some that were wedding presents to my parents and others I purchased from various places. But these are in my private collection which I don't catalogue here...a lady has to keep some things back....
Anne, I never meant to imply that Clarice copied this design. I apologize if that's how it read. I meant inspired, as in someone seeing something they truly like and it sets a cycle of thought/creativity that results in a new work. Think of someone studying a great painting and wondering what it would look like if...and a new work of art is created. Not copied. And from what I saw of her other work she was definitely an innovator in design.
The accepted date for Nippon is 1891 to 1921 and then all imported pieces were finally marked with the word "Japan"; some early pieces marked "Nippon" also included the word "Noritake". But before that the word "Nippon" was the more common version. The Morimura Bros. started a factory in "Tokoyo" (from Ms. Van Patten's book; I don't know if the spelling is wrong and should be Tokyo) in 1876 and started exporting their goods world wide to ensure that money (gold) would flow back into Japan. They opened a store in New York in 1877. During this time the Japanese factory decided to expand and concentrate on ceramics and the old Noritake factory was born in 1904 at the site of the new Noritake factory. Noritake became known for its high quality and you can find the word "Noritake" along with "Nippon" on the backstamps.
It's also interesting to know that other factories were producing Nippon ware, using different backstamps, but the blue leaf and the "M" are the most collectible unless you count the beautiful Coraline pieces that came with a list of Japanese characters on the bottom.
Sadly, some of those factories were totally destroyed during WWII and records are lost. By then the "Occupied Japan" pieces are made, but I don't know if Noritake marked that on their wares as I'm not very familiar with anything after the Nippon era. But "true" Nippon was produced only during 1891 to 1921.
As I read the caption under my photo I can see why I might left the impression of not knowing if this piece was Nippon or not. Like I said, I learned my lesson the hard way. Nowadays I only buy something if it truly is the real thing and not the reproductions being made. For instance, Nippon would never be a lady's head on a slipper planter or anything with Marilyn Monroe, which pop up on Ebay once in a while.
I'll try posting a lovely little vase with Moriage around the flowers and the top.
Yes it was confusing and I put a bit of thought into my post and got out my various millers and flicked through about 10000 odd pages trying to help...
I was just clarifying that rarely did Clarice Cliff take inspiration from other artists except in her earlier years where she did a series of traditional fruit and even some willow pattern. Having collected English and some European pottery for many decades I am familiar with the concept of artist inspiration.
I'm sorry that I was unable to help you further now that I understand you were across it all along. I know when ppl help me with learning aspects of items I might decide to commence collecting that I am extremely appreciative of their efforts. There are a terrific number of ppl who dedicate their time to act as mentors with ppls learning curves and I know I enjoy providing information in my subject matter expertise.
Like I also said it's a very popular subject drawing house and country scenes.
Have you considered that the plates also may have been painted many years after the firing? This was common at larger factories such as Doulton Lambeth and is the reason many dates on pottery don't marry up to times that a certain style was released.
Anyway at least you know who your maker is, good luck with finding a pattern name..assuming it wasn't a commissioned piece of work for a large house etc...
can you pls add the a photo of the full back stamp to this posting. thank you...
The reason why I asked for the back stamp is these two beautiful plates of yours have been bothering me....why...because they are in the style of Clarice Cliff but according to your date line, 30 years before. This style IMHO dated from Clarice Cliff onward so I'm very keen as a collector of Clarice to find out whether she used item as inspiration or may have been an attempt by a Chinese crowd to reproduce Nippon...
I found this interesting article which I reference to Flo Dove where she has discussed the issue of fakes made with the M and wreath. Very interesting read. A fascinating read in to the world of Nippon... I thought the fellow CW readers might also enjoy.
"Most troublesome, however, is the M in wreath design, since modern producers in China have copied this mark so exactly it is now impossible to tell if a piece is genuine by virtue of this backstamp alone. The original mark and the fake mark are identical. Since almost 50% of all antique Nippon that entered the USA had the M in wreath mark (circa 1911), you must be VERY careful. Like the original, the fake mark is under glaze. These pieces originally had a Made in China paper label that could be removed easily and the piece passed off as Nippon. In all likelihood, since the mark is underglaze and obscured by a paper label, the wholesaler had an intent to deceive. Other fakes have no backstamp at all but come into the country with a paper label that can easily be removed and the piece passed off as unmarked Nippon. These fakes are worth only a few dollars each.
According to Joan F. Van Patten, the author of "The Collector's Encyclopedia of Nippon, First through Fifth Series, "U.S. Customs has ruled that the fake M-in-wreath mark is counterfeit and not allowed for importation into the United States. Because of this ruling, wholesalers, for the time being, have stopped marking their fake Nippon with the Noritake Company backstamps (including the Maple Leaf, Rising Sun, and RC marks)." However, be aware that there are pieces with all of these backstamps that entered the USA prior to this ruling.
There are probably 50 or more repro patterns of Nippon currently on the market. One found in great abundance is Wildflower, which has a bisque finish on pale green with a wildflower design. There are dozens of various pieces made in this pattern. See the photos below of a round footed box (about 5 inches across) and a rectangular box (about 5 X 7 inches), both with covers. The wildflower pattern is marked with the hourglass in wreath design."
I am not saying your items are fake. I just cannot get the whole thing out of my head, its annoying me...Look forward to your back stamp photos.
Anne, I must now admit that the piece that taught me about counterfeit Nippon was indeed the wildflower on a green bisque background with the hourglass in a wreath. Since then, and it gave me a great deal of pleasure to toss it away, I have always been careful to know styles and backstamps. Eventually you get a feel for what is real and if you aren't sure (even if it turns out real eventually) you walk away.
I have no doubt that this is "true" Nippon. I was asking if anyone had seen similar pieces. That's how I should have put it under the description.
This is definitely painted before a final firing and the leaf backstamp is under the bottom glaze (the bottom is glazed while the vase is a bisque finish that is common in Nippon). I have several pieces with the same finish and have to admit it may be my favorite although flowers outlined in gold get me every time, and those are usually on the more common shiny finish.
You have certainly done your homework on Nippon. My books run from the first of the series up to the "ABC's". There may be another but I haven't checked lately. I have seen examples of fake backstamps while trawling Ebay as well as seeing them in the books. The fake leaf is larger than the 1/4" real one and has a large lobe on one end. Looks quite ugly. I will have to upload the backstamps in new postings. I'll have to put the photo in a new post. And I'll see if I posted the leaf backstamp on the moriage flower vase. I was cleaning it as I intend to sell it and to my horror found a small section missing. Very small, and off to the side, but it will probably affect the value, not to mention that in a few sections the white on the raised dots has worn away. That wasn't visible as it was higher on my shelf and I was so excited when buying it I didn't really examine it closer. Another lesson learned...
Gosh thats annoying, I hate it when you find damage.
Can you pls write to me on annelanders@gmail.com thanks...
Anne
What a great find Braider :).....Sure does look like Clarice Cliff. I watch the BBC's Antiques Roadshow on "Ovation" they appraise her pieces every once an a while. She's not everyone's taste but I think they're beautiful. Wouldn't be surprised if she found inspiration in Nippon pieces. She was very innovated and really went against normal conventions for that time period. -Mike-
I would like if you would look at a piece I recently purchased at an estate auction $11. I'm being told it is a Moriyama Morimachi; however, I can not find any such marking to match mine. I just came across this article and signed up to comment. So, I'm not sure if I can post a picture here or what would be easiest. Thank you for your time.
Cam, by all means post photos of your piece. I Googled Moriyama Morimachi and got the Bing page with marks and items with these marks. I was amazed to see a sample of "dragon ware" exactly like a little coaster I own! My coaster isn't marked but Nippon also includes this design. Nippon pieces generally weren't marked with "Japan" because the traditional Nippon period used "Nippon" instead of "Japan" since that was the term for Japan from 1890 to 1920.
I'm not an expert by any means so you could start by posting. There are bound to be others who know more than I do. And isn't it exciting to find things like this?