Posted 10 years ago
cwharold
(1 item)
8 cups, 8 saucers, 8 dessert plates, teapot? sugar, creamer --raised paint with a bird? says "hand painted Nippon" Made in Japan
Hand painted Nippon, made in Japan--tea set, chocolate set?? grandma's | ||
| China and Dinnerware3221 of 6044 |  |  |
Your grandma was certainly using it for tea. You can see the white of the cups are stained with the tannins from the tea.
Regarding age, you can go by the approximate guidelines according to http://www.gotheborg.com/marks/20thcenturyjapan.shtml ... "Previous to 1891, items were either not marked at all, or marked with Japanese characters. During the period 1921-1941 porcelain should be marked "Japan" and roughly after 1941, marked "Made in Japan", though numerous exceptions appears to occurs.
Pieces marked with JAPAN or MADE IN JAPAN in plain text without any company marks, in general date to the period immediately after the second WW."
Regarding the decorative motifs, there's the very recognizable paulownia below the bird (three leaves with white flowers and three flowering stalks in red). It's not a true-to-life representation of the plant per se, but rather it's in the form of the stylized paulownia mon, which has been used in Japanese heraldry (and decoration of ceramics, cloth, etc.) for centuries. For example, the paulownia mon in modern times is the symbol for the office of the Prime Minister of Japan.
I just want to thank you both for your help! Thank you so much!!!!