Fridays at Auction Finds is readers’ questions day. I try to guide readers to resources for them to determine the value of their items. I’m not able to appraise their treasures, but I can do some preliminary research to get them started. So, these are market values based on prices I find on the web, not appraisal for insurance purposes that I suggest for items that have been determined to be of great value.
Today’s question and comments are about a Noritake-style teapot possibly from the 1900s.
Question:
We have a matching set comprising of 2 cups and saucers, teapot, milk jug and sugar bowl all with exactly the same mark as illustrated. Do you know any more about the backstamp?
Answer:
The reader had read a blog post I wrote more than a year ago about a lovely hand-painted porcelain teapot that I bought in a box lot at auction. Normally, it was not the type of item that I would have noticed – too traditional and too fancy – but after looking it over when I got home, I realized that it was quite beautiful and in great condition. Then I just fell in love with it.
The teapot had a crudely stamp maker’s mark on the bottom, so I assumed it was a knockoff. I searched the web to try to identify the mark but could locate nothing that matched it precisely. I did find some early Noritake backstamps that were similar to it but those were marked with the maker’s name.
I replied to the reader that I had no new information about the backstamp. A week later, I got a comment from another reader about the same mark.
Comment:
I just stumbled across your post from two years ago while searching for a pattern name for my grandmother’s antique Noritake. You may have already solved your mystery but in case you have yet to identify your mark, I thought I’d pass along some info. It looks like you have a very old piece indeed. The backstamp matches one of the earliest from the 1900s. If the mark is genuine, it is a 1902 export stamp. A site you might refer to is the Noritake Collectors Guild. There is a backstamp page on the website.
Reply:
Lucky me the reader came across my blog post and was able to direct me to another resource. I checked the backstamp page on the Noritake Collectors Guild website and clicked on the year 1900. To my amazement and delight, the first photo showed what looked like my teapot’s backstamp, along with some identifying information:
“Blue 1902
For ExportThis is the original Maruki Mark
which can be dated back to
advertising material from 1902”
Like mine, this backstamp had no writing on it. Early porcelain pieces from Japan bore the name Nippon, which translates into Japan, to comply with the McKinley Tariff Act of 1890. The protectionist act required, among other things, that exports to the United States be labeled with the country of origin in “legible English words.”
The Maruki Mark (also called Komaru) is said to be one of 350 Noritake marks, along with the M-in-wreath and maple leaf, both of which I have seen on items at auction. Some of the marks also include the word Noritake, which like Nippon is one of the names on porcelain products made by the Morimura Bros. of Japan.
I’m not sure if my teapot’s backstamp is authentic or not. If it is, I’m not sure what it’s worth. Unfortunately, the edge of the spout was chipped last summer at an event where I was talking to visitors about historical treasures in their homes. I was using the teapot as an example, and it was on a table with some other items, one of which apparently knocked against it and chipped it.
Now, it’s a lovely teapot with a bruise.
Reply from reader:
I looked at your mark again and do notice that the Maruki is slightly off center and thicker in the trunk than authenticated marks. Those two points might be cause for healthy skepticism. However, your pot is lovely in its own right even with a small chip and regardless of origin. I hope you’re bold enough to serve from it when you sample a cup of your favorite tea! There’s nothing like time traveling with a delightfully useful antique.
