Exquisite Porcelain

Exquisite Porcelain

Nippon Porcelain

Antique Nippon porcelain, as this china was called during the period from the 1890's through the early 1920's, denoted country of origin rather than products from a specific manufacturer. Nippon is the anglicized word for Japan or "land of the rising sun". Only in the 1860's did Japan open trade with the West.

Thanks to McKinley Tariff Act of 1891 in The United States, Japanese porcelain produced for export was required to label its origin in Phoenician lettering. After the early 1920's, the more-English "Made in Japan" began to appear, mandated by The United States requirement of "Japan" instead of "Nippon" for the sake of clarity for American readers. Thus, the beginning and ending of the "Nippon" period.

Nippon china was produced for Western consumption, often copying the styles and design of European porcelain makers, such as Haviland and Ambrosius Lamm. In fact, due to the often extravagant detail and coloring, the Japanese were not very fond of these items at home.

Production of fine porcelain was not new to the Japanese at the time Nippon cam into existence. Earlier works were simpler and less "busy", having more white space on the surfaces.

Nevertheless, high quality at a generally lower price than from Europe made Nippon porcelain extremely popular in Great Britain and The United States in the late Nineteenth Century.

Genuine antique Nippon porcelain is nearly always hand painted and ornate in decoration. Most are exquisitely delicate - in many cases thin enough to be translucent.

A special hand-painting effect was moriage - the use of liquefied clay prior to firing that provided are raised outlining effect to the final product. Many items such as pitchers and vases have beaded moriage raised outline that create a striking effect of both color and texture. Because this process takes so long and is so labor-intensive, the technique is seldom present in imitations, and thus is an indicator of true Nippon porcelain.

Many antique Nippon china pieces are trimmed with 24 karat gold. The process used in those days, however, did not bind the gold well to the porcelain, so pieces that have not worn off a significant portion of the gold are highly valued.

Patterns on real Nippon porcelain include cloisonne, geishas, phoenixes in blue glaze, dragons, and Coralene.

Real Nippon includes dinnerware, figurines, and even porcelain dolls in addition to vases and pitchers.

Imitation Nippon, by contrast, will more often be heavier, thicker, and more like pottery. (The genuine Nippon relief-molded pieces are an exception.) Imitators would label their works "Nippon" long after the early 1920's due to the popularity of the term.

Because there were so many producers of Nippon porcelain during its reign, there are more than a hundred markings that can be found.

The green crown shield displaying the letters N P S K is one of the early Nippon marks from circa 1890. The green seal Morimura pieces stem from the first decade of The Twentieth Century.

The "M Wreath" mark from Morimura Brothers is a popular one, and is associated with the eventual rise of Noritake porcelain in later years.

About the Author

Lawrence Bell serves as Editor of The Antiques Bible. The site offers an illustrated glossary of antiques terms with links to other helpful resources.

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