September 6, 2005
 

CEDAR FALLS, IOWA- Both East and West converged at Jackson’s International Auctioneers for their August 13th sale of Hand Painted Nippon and Noritake with record prices established in numerous categories. The auction attracted buyers from throughout the states as well as Japan with total sales pushing ½ a million dollars.

The auction featured the lifetime collection of Fred Tenney of Scottsdale, Arizona.  Born in the small town of Harrison Maine, Fred reports that he bought his first piece of Nippon for $3 at a barn sale decades ago and continued collecting until very recently. Like any advanced collector Fred Tenney’s Nippon and Noritake collections consisted of the very best examples from a variety of categories including many one-of-a-kind and extremely rare pieces.

The auction itself was cleverly laid out by style and theme thereby allowing niche collectors to easily find and focus on their categories. Additionally each piece was beautifully photographed and illustrated in a full color catalog that is as good if not better than any book on the subject and without question a great price guide to any collector in this field.

Lot #105 was the top seller of the day, a 21-inch bolted urn finely painted with a scene of an Indian hunter holding a goose. Bidding opened at $12,000.00, finally closing with a winning bid of  $20,500.00 (including buyer’s premium).

The auction began with the ever popular Coralene decorated Nippon. Coralene refers to those pieces that are, in part, decorated with a profusion of tiny colored glass beads. Worthy examples from that category include an 11-inch Coralene decorated jug, which sold to buyer from New York for $2,585.00. That was followed by a 13-inch Coralene decorated vase, decorated with bleeding hearts that sold to an in house buyer from Japan for $2,232.00. A Coralene decorated urn measuring 13 inches sold to a Japanese phone bidder for $2,115.00 followed by a 13-inch Coralene vase that did $1,645.00.

Other highlights of the sale include a rare 9” x 12” molded plaque depicting a fisherman smoking a pipe. Estimated at $7-$10,000 it went back to Japan selling for $15,275.00. Next up to sell was a desirable molded Indian-Head tobacco humidor that went to a collector from Michigan for $7,050.00. Followed by a rare Children Under A Tree molded humidor that sold to a Texas collector for $8,800.00 against a pre-auction estimate of $3-$5,000. A molded Flying Eagle humidor on white ground sold to a collector from Kentucky for $5,875.00 and a rare molded Johnny Appleseed vase crossed the block at $4.935.00.

The word “Nippon” which is found as the back stamp on certain Asian porcelain simply means “Japan” in the vernacular. In the world of hand painted porcelain collectors, the mark “Nippon” however actually refers to a period or era from 1891-1921.  During this period the porcelain manufactured in Japan at various factories was imported to the U.S. and simply marked Nippon-Japan. It was not until the passing of the McKinley Tariff Act in 1921 that required all goods imported to the U.S. to bear the country of origin in the English language. 

While Japan has a long history of porcelain manufacturing, dating back centuries with its close ties to China, Nippon porcelain was produced strictly for Western consumption. During the Nippon manufacturing era the Japanese government commissioned a number of foreign artisans to come to Japan to instruct them in the production and painting of porcelain in the European style. They were highly successful in their efforts at imitation, and much Nippon porcelain that was produced bears a strong resemblance to such European porcelain products as Sevres, KPM, Limoges, R.S. Prussia and many others. The advantage to the American consumer of the day was that hand painted Nippon porcelain could be acquired at a fraction of the cost of its European counterparts. In short it was considered a “cheap” knock-off of the “real thing” and was scoffed at by any serious connoisseur of fine European porcelain as a shoddy imitation. My how things have changed.

More highlights from this auction include a rare Morimura Brothers-Noritake salesman’s design sample book consisting of 230 hand colored illustrations. It sold to a Japanese collector for $9,987.00.  Continuing on an 11-inch Queen Louise portrait vase that crossed the block at $5,640.00. A Kansas City collector paid $5,000.00 for an Indian and Bear molded humidor and a buyer from Germany had to spend $4,465.00 for a 10-inch portrait vase of Queen Louise.  A 13-inch charger decorated with Bedouins on Horseback sold for $3,995.00. An interesting Gargoyle decorated molded humidor sold to a New York buyer for $3,525.00 followed by a 6-inch molded rabbit night light that sold to a Japanese buyer for $3,290.00. A 9-inch Moriage decorated vase-depicting geese in flight sold for $3,000.00 to Japan and a 12-inch vase depicting a woman with a peacock sold for $3,290.00.

The sale ended with a good variety of Noritake porcelain. Of particular interest to buyers were those charming yet simple Art Deco Noritake decorative pieces. This is a market that has exploded in the last few years with unique and scarcer examples bringing in the high hundreds and occasionally breaking the thousand-dollar barrier. Only a decade ago the vast majority of these whimsical, colorful and fun collectibles could easily be acquired from coast to coast in the $25 range. As the following results illustrate, such is not the case today.

The top lot of the Noritake was a 22-piece Art Deco dessert set that sold to a Japanese buyer for $9,987.00 against a pre-auction estimate that some thought was high at $4-$6,000. However, perhaps the biggest surprise of all in this category was lot #392 a 4-inch inkwell in the form of a harlequin’s head. It too sold to a Japanese buyer bringing $3,760.00 and more than doubling the high pre-sale estimate.  A three-piece Noritake salt, pepper, and mustard jar condiment set of figural clowns sold for $1,175.00. An 8-inch oval tray decorated with an Art Deco female snow skier sold for $1,57.00. A 3.5-inch “Betty Boop” decorated cover powder box sold for $1,000.00. An 8-inch plate decorated with a Southern Bell sold for $940.00. A Japanese buyer paid $822.00 for a 4-inch powder jar depicting a bubble-blowing jester on the lid. And another powder jar depicting an Art Deco flapper powdering her nose sold for $650.00.

At the end of the sale Fred Tenney, the owner of the collection who was on hand throughout the auction, was thrilled. Tenney shared some of his views regarding the auction when he said, “I enjoyed collecting every piece and I equally enjoy the fact that now so many other collectors can share the same joy I had as they acquired new pieces for their collections today.” He continued, “Over the past two decades I have come to know all the major and mid level auction houses throughout the United States. However, I have never been so impressed with the thoroughly professional staff and awesome facility as I have been with Jackson’s International. It is always nice to walk away from an endeavor with rock solid validation that you made the best choice in choosing the right auction firm. As for me there is no doubt Jackson’s International is the best; thoroughly professional, hard working, honest, friendly and most important results oriented,” concluded Tenney.