
The first year Randy and I were married, his mother gave me this platter for Christmas. She knew I collected and enjoyed vintage dishes. Every year at Thanksgiving and Christmas, this platter held our turkey. I have used it a couple of times in Mississippi, but after the first few years, I never made a full turkey again as seldom were people here for the holidays and the three of us could not eat the whole turkey. This has been stashed in the buffet drawer for years, carefully wrapped in vintage table cloths from Mother and her Mama. In another marathon day of cleaning out and packing for the upcoming kitchen demolition and reinstallation, it has been sitting on the table, waiting for me to locate a box for it.

According to Jan-Erik Nilsson of Gotheborg.com–the Antique Chinese and Japanese Porcelain Collectors’ Help and Info Page, this backstamp appears to have been used only in 1947. With over 400 backstamps for Noritake, it is quite a feat apparently to date a piece of their fine china. Exports from Japan were halted in 1941 following the Pearl Harbor attack, and did not resume until 1948 during the Allied Forces occupation from 1945-1952.

The Japanese character in the circle is called Komaru, meaning “overcoming difficulties.” The symbol was first used when Japan began exporting china and experiencing cultural differences. Nilsson indicated this backstamp was replaced with a pre-war stamp after 1947, but it still had to carry the label Made in Occupied Japan. From 1945-until at least 1947, Noritake used the backstamp symbol with the words Rose China above a symbol of a rose and the words Made in Occupied Japan. The company thought they would preserve the Noritake name for later, fearing the war would lessen the value of the work.
Ads began appearing in the newspapers in 1948, such as:
Just released from U. S. Army Headquarters in Japan! NORITAKE CHINA WITH RICH GOLD DECORATION 93-PIECE SERVICE FOR 12 $139.
Count on A&S to bring you a lion’s share of the first Noritake china to be released from General MacArthur’s headquarters in occupied Japan. It’s been seven years since we’ve had this exquisite ware, and it would be hard to find a more glorious pattern than “Chantilly.”
Daily News, March 3, 1948.

The patterns from this time period feature similar designs to my platter and the examples of the top two plates in the above advertisement. A large number of designs during the years 1948-1952 featured the bordered edge with a design, flower or leaf relief with a scroll inside the center of the plate. The scroll designs varied slightly, and the center inside the scroll was white with ivory on the shoulders.
I have not been able to locate the pattern name of my platter, although I have used a database for all Noritake patterns that fit the years of the occupation, as well as hundreds of images on ebay, Etsy, replacements, and collectors’ forums. The shape of the platter with its gold trimmed handles was found on any number of similar designs, such as Chevonia and Clermont. I did find an example of the pattern on Etsy, but it only described it as “Blue Gold Trim Colorful Florals on Ivory Antique Made in Occupied Japan Lovely vintage Art Deco–presumably because she could not find it either. There are also a couple of sites where the design is mis-identified as the Chevonia and Clermont, which clearly feature a different style flower, color of the border scroll, and the inside gold scroll is different.
For now, the name shall remain a mystery, at least to me.
What a treasure and what a back story!
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Thank you, Jean. I do treasure it, and I love a good back story. π
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Oh, I associate you with great back stories and buildings and objects with deep characters.
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Thank you. π
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Why don’t you try doing a search on Replacements.com? They seem to have most china patterns.
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I did; looked at hundreds of them from Occupied Japan; they do not show it, but they do not have images of all of them. I even Googled names of patterns with no image, and every pattern name I could find in the newspaper archives. I am persistent, but after several days, I tend to say I should give it a rest. π
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You will find it when you are not looking! I believe they changed the patterns sightly during the occupation, but I don’t remember who told me that.
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Apparently, there were many patterns that were made to be sold on the American bases, and they turned out a large number of them. Most of these (like other patterns I have seen) are minor variations of others, different colors, scrolls, backgrounds, flower types, etc.
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Good luck!
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So cool!
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It is beautiful – a very thoughtful gift from your mother-in-law with enduring beauty and now a mystery story! I love Noritake and this one reminds me of a plate I have of the Bluedawn pattern, manufactured from 1947-1951. Replacements has a platter that is similar, but as you stated has larger border and flowers.
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Bluedawn was one of the similar ones–I think Bluelace was another. It is fun to see the similarities and differences.
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Beautiful platter! What are your future plans for it? I believe I have some coffee cups with “Made in Occupied Japan” on them. I will look for them when we are home again. I may Google them, but that will be it as far as my research. You are quite the researcher!
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Oh, please check on your cups. I have looked at so many these last few days, I might even remember them! I think of it as a search for clues, and using my skills of observation and I really enjoy it. It has been a hobby for a while, but since I retired, it has allowed me to explore it more. It is the same way I discovered so many New Deal Administration buildings, and how to find verification. Need some help? I am on it!
I am not sure as to plans. Rand and I were talking about the items from his side of the family just a few days ago.
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I will check when we get home. Your passion inspires me to look at these old treasures anew.
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Been a while since I inspired anyone, so thank you very much. Safe travels!
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so precious πβ¨
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Thank you, and thanks for stopping by!
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