Message
My 1986 copy of "Kovels' New Dictionary of Marks - Pottery & Porcelain 1850 to the Present" has relevant information.
The book shows the top mark with "Nippon" instead of "Made in Japan" and inclusive date of "1890 to 1921". The latter date is the point at which US law began requiring "Made in Japan" instead of "Nippon" on imports from that country.
Kovels also has the same Takito mark with inclusive date of "1880 - ca 1948", though I would surmise that the mark did not have "Made in Japan" in it until 1921 and later. (FYI: According to gotheborg.com, the star on the base of some Japanese porcelain pieces is a firing support to prevent sagging in the kiln and not a trademark.)
It is my impression that many of the Japanese companies that used "Hand Painted" and "Nippon" in their logos were absorbed into the Noritake conglomerate after World War II. It may be that Noritake has all the names archived somewhere, though I don't suppose they would be in English.
Dragon ware like this was produced under many labels. It's value seems to me to rest not so much in the names of the makers -- dragon ware with a Noritake mark on it might be an exception if it exists -- as in the soundness of its condition and the completeness of original sets. If you'll go to a site like liveauctioneers.com and query their archived auction results, you can get an excellent overview of values, though you'll have to sign up first if you wish to see the figures.
Good luck,
Bill H.
|
Note that we are now reviewing postings before posting due to the large volume of SPAM and inappropriate postings on the forum. The validation process may take up to 12 hours. |
|