Nippon porcelain
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- Posted By: curiocorner
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- Location: US
Vintage porcelain back stamped "Nippon" is not a brand or specific manufacturer of porcelain but a designation that was used by Japanese manufacturers from approx. 1891 to 1921 on their exports to the U.S. In 1921, the U.S. government decided to enforce the McKinley Tariff Act which barred from import items which were not clearly labeled or marked in English words their country of origin. Thus the Japanese word for Japan, "Nippon," was replaced with "Japan" or "Made in Japan." These pieces were characteristically ornate, highly decorated items with a lot of gold trim. There were numerous manufacturers of these porcelain pieces, of which a great deal of history and very interesting and practical detail has been documented in a series of beautifully illustrated books by Joan E. Van Patten. The books are highly informative for the new or seasoned Nippon collector. There is also a Nippon Collectors' Club where one can join with other Nippon enthusiasts.
Our fascination with Nippon china started decades ago when we were given a piece of Nippon porcelain by a neighbor. Her husband had been in the U.S. Navy and brought back home many goods from his travels to the Far East among which was our gift, a lovely small compote decorated with a border of birds and flowers. It is a relatively uncommon pattern, and we have only found a few pieces since. The range of items from the Nippon era and the variety of decorations and their beauty is astonishing. We hoarded a collection of several hundred pieces at one time, but then went into the antiques and collectibles business and sold, swapped and otherwise narrowed down our collection to a few treasured items. The joy we have is using these decorative items in ways not necessarily intended for their original use. Our vanity has small vases and sugar cube trays supporting bouquets of cosmetic brushes, butter pats holding small sponges; saucers that lost their cups are now underneath soap dispensers or planters. The practical uses for these works of art are only limited by one's imagination.
We have a collection of small Nippon bisque character dolls that are a whole separate genre of Nippon items covered in the reference "Nippon Dolls & Playthings," by Joan Van Patten and Linda Lau published by Collector Book, copyright 2001.
The prices for Nippon porcelain are as varied as the items in our shopping experience. We've had a lot of fun looking for pieces in our travels. One of the most extensive and breathtaking collection of vases we found was at an antique store in Folsom, California, where the prices were in accordance with the stunning assortment of elaborately decorated pieces. Online auctions have brought the world marketplace to our monitors and they offer excellent values.
Our recommendation to the new collector is to do a lot of first hand field research and find a specific area where you want to start your collection. We bought every piece we could find and afford as new collectors and later reduced the quantity and focused on the quality and particular area that appealed to us. Not all Nippon porcelains are beautiful or distinctly Nippon, and you may not recognize some of the unusual and novel examples without doing some fundamental research. Of course, beauty is truly in the eyes of the beholder, so get started now and remember to buy it when you see it or it probably won't be there when you go back the next time.