by Helaine Fendelman and Joe Rosson
Scripps Howard News Service
Dear Helaine and Joe: I have enclosed a picture of a vase given to me by my mother, who received it on her 13th birthday in 1912. It is 9 inches tall and was once part of a pair; one belonged to my mother and the other to her twin sister. The matching vase, however, has been broken. I would very much appreciate knowing the history and value.
--T.M.B.
Dear T.M.B: This is one of the most unusual Nippon vases that we have seen in a very long time. Egyptian themes are not all that uncommon on Japanese vases of this era, but this kind of bold, stylized approach is certainly not typical in any way.
We have discussed the McKinley tariff of 1890 before, but some of the details need to be repeated in order to understand the history of this piece. So here we go:
In 1890, Congress passed a law requiring items that were to be imported into the United States had to be marked with the country of origin. This law went into effect in 1891 and the Japanese chose to mark their export pieces with the word "Nippon," which, of course, was their name for their country. This lasted until 1920, when the Japanese changed their mark to "Made in Japan" or "Japan" at the insistence of the U.S. government.
This means that all pieces marked "Nippon"--except for the vast numbers of fakes that have appeared on the market in recent years--were made in Japan between 1891 and 1921. There is absolutely no reason to doubt that the vase belonging to T.M.B. was made circa 1913, and the "M in wreath" mark on the bottom signifies that it was imported into this country by the Morimura Brothers of New York City.
The mark also tells us that the piece was made by Noritake, the highly regarded company that was established in Nagoya, Japan, in 1904. They produced wares solely for export and are said to have been the first company in Japan to make Western-style dinnerware for American and European markets.
Besides Noritake, there were large numbers of companies making porcelain wares during the Nippon era. Today, it is possible to identify only a fraction of the actual makers of these items because many of the marks found on Nippon wares are those of exporters or importers who ordered pieces from a variety of factories and then marked them with a generic symbol that had little or nothing to do with the original maker.
Nippon wares are abundant in this country and ordinary examples can be fairly inexpensive. Some of the Nippon wares, however, are very fine and/or unusual, and these are greatly appreciated by current collectors.
The painting on the vase belonging to T.M.B. is not especially fine, but the style of the decoration and the color scheme are striking. For insurance replacement, it should be valued in the $650-to-$850 range if it is in perfect condition.
(Helaine Fendelman and Joe Rosson are the authors of Treasures in Your Attic. Questions can by mailed to them at P.O. Box 12208, Knoxville, TN 37912-0208.)
Resources Treasures In Your Attic
by Joe L. Rosson, Helaine Fendelman (ISBN: 0060198273)
Subtitled: An entertaining, informative, down-to-earth guide to a wide range of collectibles and antiques from the hosts of the popular television show seen on PBS stations.
(Harper Resource, April 2001)
Order this
title.
Treasures In Your Attic
c/o WSJK/WKOP-TV
1611 E. Magnolia Ave.
Knoxville, TN 37917
Phone: 865-595-0220
Fax: 865-595-0300
Email:
elaine_tomber@wsjk.pbs.org
URL:
www.treasuresinyourattic.org
)
