Nippon Porcelain
The “Nippon” in “Nippon porcelain,” refers to an era – 1891 to 1921 – and a place – Japan. Nippon was not a specific line of ceramics, a particular factory or even a style or type of porcelain. It was rather a highly diverse, inexpensive, export-only family of porcelain objects that catered to the tastes of American and European consumers. Its 31 years overlapped the Victorian, Art Nouveau and Art Deco eras.
Beginning on March 1, 1891, when the McKinley Tariff Act took effect, companies exporting to the United States had to prominently and permanently mark their goods with the country of origin. Since Nippon means Japan in the Japanese language, porcelain exports from Japanese factories large and small were marked, backstamped or backmarked Nippon. The era ended October 1, 1921, when the U.S. Treasury Department required that the exporting country’s name be in English. Despite the specificity of the dates encompassing the era, Nippon is essentially unsigned and undated.
Besides the word “Nippon” on the bottom of Nippon objects, one might find a factory logo or name, patent dates and the names of Japanese and United States cities. Although researchers have isolated 260 unique Nippon backstamps, approximately 900f them can be traced to the Noritake factory in Nagoya, Japan. For example, three popular, high quality backstamps – RC (Royal Crockery) Nippon, 1906 to 1911; maple leaf Nippon, 1891 to 1906; and a green or blue M in wreath Nippon, 1911 to 1921 – were from the Noritake factory. Although Nippon was the common denominator of all backstamps, one of the era’s rarest and most desirable wares, Royal Kinjo, did not have “Nippon” on its backstamp.
Nippon porcelain was readily available in the United States at fairs and carnivals, as manufacturer’s premiums, through catalogs, and from the corner grocery or Five & Dime. The assortment was extraordinary: humidors, mugs, steins, dresser sets, ferners, cracker jars, bowls, condensed milk containers, bolted urns, hanging plaques, kitchen items, lamps, tea/coffee/chocolate sets, and, of course, a large collection of vases. Until the 1970′s, Nippon porcelain was considered suitable only for flea markets and garage sales. Today interest is worldwide with a strong following among a new generation of Japanese collectors. The catalog for the 2005 Jackson sale of the Fred Tenney collection, for example, had estimates in dollars and yen. In Japan, “Nip-pon” is pronounced “Nee-hon.”
Japanese porcelain makers understood American taste and values. They were adept at copying famous paintings. Human figures included biblical illustrations, portraits of Native Americans, Egyptian gods and goddesses, royalty, foxhunts, cowboys, monks, beggars, a man on a camel and people playing various sports. Non-human depictions included windmills, airplanes, automobiles, dogs, squirrels, bears, horses, birds, flowers, woodland and seashore scenes. Uncomplicated scenes were hand-painted up to 1904; some elaborate, highly detailed work was produced as a decal or stencil. Well-executed, hand-painted, highly detailed scenes are especially collectible.
Types of Nippon:
Moriage: A collector favorite. The technique involves an overlay of fine white slip and resembles dried toothpaste or cake frosting.
Coralene: The process affixes tiny, colorless, satin-finished glass beads to a painted surface. Firing sets the beads.
Enameling: Painted porcelain may resemble moriage, coralene, pottery or cloisonne. It is distinguished by its brightly colored, slick, raised surface. Turquoise enamel beads on a gold background is another collector favorite.
Molded relief or “Blown out:”: A collector favorite. Design details are “pushed out” from the inside. The effect is accomplished in the mold, not by hand. Many blown out pieces have surfaced in the past 15 years as prices have risen. Prior to that all were thought to be rare.
Dragonware: The dragon is a familiar figure on Japanese porcelain and collectors often refer to all such depictions as “Dragonware.” Nippon-era Dragonware is typically applied moriage. The dragon figure often has blue jewel eyes and double wings and is placed on a sponged background.
Crude reproductions began appearing in the early 1980′s. As prices have risen, so has reproduction quality. Contemporary backstamps often covered with an easily removed paper label are indistinguishable from the real thing. Many fakes are fantasy items like the oyster plate, oil lamp and wine cooler. With fake coralene items, the beads are glued, not fired, on the surface and easily scraped off.
Reference note by p4A.com Contributing Editor Pete Prunkl.