Very Rare Vintage Highly Sought After & Collectible George V Period (1930s) Very Generously 24ct Gold Gilded Japanese Noritake 44318 Hand Painted Bone China Teapot (Approximately 10”/26cm, 700g)
The “Komaru" symbol on the base of this teapot crowned by "Noritake" in handwritten logotype format and below, "Made in Japan", is from the 1930s
Superb rare teapot with raised handcrafted 24ct gold gilded Japanese moriage work. Extremely scarce in this superb condition. Please browse all 12 sets of photographs attached for size, weight and condition as they are self explanatory.
This item is not new and about 100 years old. There are no chips nor cracks nor any substantial wear to the gold gilding. If you are extremely particular then I’d advise condition is commensurate with age and near perfect whilst there is very minimal sign of wear to the gold gilding on the handle only and not readily obvious unless look for it. Please enlarge all photographs to satisfy yourself with the condition. Absolutely marvellous collectible teapot.
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936.
**** KINDLY NOTE ****
I also have a matching creamer in this identical make and pattern, in perfect condition, somewhere in my belongings. If you remind me at the time of purchase, I’m happy to send you that too free of charge with my compliments.
Noritake History:
In 1876, Ichizaemon Morimura VI and his brother Toyo founded Morimura Gumi with the intent of establishing overseas trading by a Japanese company. By 1878, Toyo had established a business in New York selling Japanese antiques and other goods, including pottery. The company was renamed Morimura Brothers in 1881. By the 1890s, the company had shifted from retail to wholesale operations and started working on design improvements for the pottery and porcelain ware, which had become one third of its business. By 1899, all of the pottery and porcelain decorating factories in Tokyo and Kyoto had been consolidated in Nagoya, and the company started research on creating European style hard white porcelain in Japan.
In 1904, key members of this trading company created the Nippon Toki Kaisha, Ltd. ("the Company that makes Japan's Finest China") in Japan. A new factory was built in Noritake, near Nagoya (now Noritake-shinmachi, Nishi-ku, Nagoya, Aichi). In 1914 the company succeeded in creating their first Western style dinner set, called "Sedan", to compete with European porcelain companies. Nippon Toki wares were mostly aimed at the European Market. This forerunner of the modern Noritake Company was founded in the village of Noritake, a small suburb near Nagoya, Japan. Most of the company’s early wares carried one of the various “Nippon” back stamps to indicate its country of origin when exported to Western markets. Today, many collectors agree that the best examples of “Nippon-era” (1891–1921) hand painted porcelain carry a back stamp used by "Noritake" during the Nippon era.
By 1923, Nippon Toki was looking to streamline its paperwork using machines to handle large orders coming in from the United States, and was impressed by the Hollereth tabulating machines manufactured by the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company (CTR). In May 1925, Morimura-Brothers entered into a sole agency agreement with CTR (which had been renamed IBM in 1924) to import the Hollerith machines into Japan. The first Hollerith tabulator in Japan was installed at Nippon Pottery in September 1925, making Noritake IBM customer #1 in Japan.
In 1939, Noritake started selling industrial grinding wheels based on its porcelain finishing technology. It now provides ceramic and diamond grinding and abrasive solutions for many industries. Other products currently manufactured by Noritake, also derived from its core tableware manufacturing technologies, include thick film circuit substrates, engineering ceramics, ceramic powder, and vacuum fluorescent displays,[8] as well as heating furnaces and kilns, mixing technology, filtration systems, and cutting and grinding machines.
Although consumers and collectors alike have called the tableware, "Noritake" (and/or simply, "Nippon") since the late 1920s, the Japanese parent company did not officially change its name to the Noritake Co., Limited until 1981. Evidently, since Noritake is the name of a place, the company was initially prohibited from registering the name as a trade name.
There are three commonly seen Noritake marks, namely the Noritake Maruki (often called Komaru) Mark which is the mark on this trinket box. There’s also the M (for Morimura) Wreath Mark and the RC (for Royal Crockery) mark.
Between 1890 and 1921 the company marked their export china with ‘Nippon’ in Western characters. These Nippon marks can date pieces to the 1890 to 1921 period, before the McKinley Tariff act demanded ‘Japan’ was used. After the first World War all Noritake production was marked ‘Japan’ or ‘Made in Japan’ to comply with the McKinley Tariff Act, and Nippon was only very rarely used after 1921.
The use of Nippon can sometimes cause confusion as some pieces bear marks that state simply ‘Oriental China, Nippon’ around a rising sun.
These Nippon marked pieces are highly desireable but collectors should be wary of faked Nippon marks on later pieces, particularly from the 1960’s.
After WWII, from 1948 to 1952, Noritake China was marked in slightly differing ways, the most common marks used included ‘Occupied Japan’ or ‘Made in Occupied Japan’.
Also Immediately after WWII, and due to an inability to maintain quality standards, the company stopped using Noritake on their marks and used ‘Rose China’ alongside a rose with ‘Made in Japan’ or ‘Made in Occupied Japan’ below.
From about 1963 the company marked their china with ‘Noritake Company Ltd’. Noritake China is still produced today and there are a wide variety of marks being used. Some current marks include pattern or series names including Impromptu, Oneida, Grandceram, New Lineage, Noritake Tea Collection, among others.
In the19th Century, the Japanese porcelain industry underwent a major industrial revolution that allowed it to enter and then compete in the global market. Old established Noritake as a company did not embrace the Art Deco phenomenon. They focused on Japanese techniques such as:
1. Moriage & Icchin Moriage - (Icchin is the name of the tool used to draw moriage). Technique to make ceramics three-dimensional.
2. Gold Raised Work – After the first firing of a painted piece the moriage is covered by painting it with liquid gold giving a raised gold look.
3. Gold Beading - when small gold dots are placed carefully and precisely on the moriage.
4. Raised Enamel (Jewels) – A technique to enhance a gold finish to make it more luxurious.
5. Wedgwood – refers to Nippon pieces which attempt to imitate Josiah Wedgwood’s Jasperware.
6. Sprig Mold - A one-piece mold used in making ornamentation.
Porcelain bearing the Noritake mark spans a period of time inclusive of what Nippon collectors like to refer to as pre-Nippon, Nippon and post-Nippon. To be precise, a timeline of approximately 40 years from 1885 to 1925.
Noritake items tend to be Art Nouveau but non-typical when compared to the majority of Nippon era export items destined for North America. Japan, as country of origin, was originally used and maintained by the firm because the product was not intended for the American market.
Noritake items were primarily Nippon era, circa 1915, destined for non-United States markets. The firm choose not to “change from Japan to Nippon”. The porcelain produced by them has been shown to be indicative of early period works (1885/1905) characterised by an ashen colour and decorated extremely painstakingly, with elaborate, exquisite skill and refinement.
The Nippon era began in 1891 when the Japanese porcelain was clearly marked "Nippon" due to the McKinley Tariff Act. This act required that all porcelain be marked with the country of origin. ("Nippon" literally translates to "Japan".) This porcelain was made specifically to be exported to the west with designs and patterns that suited American's tastes. At that time, Japan had a thriving porcelain industry using methods used in Europe and the United States.
As explained above In 1921 the United States government changed its position and required that Japanese imports no longer be marked "Nippon", but with "Japan". This marks the end of the Nippon era.