Hi Dolores,

Thank you for contacting Mearto with your appraisal inquiry.

Tea sets hold importance for various cultural, historical, and practical reasons. They have been a symbol of hospitality, refinement, and tradition across different cultures, often representing more than just tools for serving tea. Offering tea is a universal gesture of hospitality and warmth. A beautiful tea set such as this enhances this experience and reflects the host's care and attention to detail.

Regrettably, we're living in an age where increasingly fewer people "have friends over for tea", and the preferred method of drinking coffee is usually on-the-go, from paper or styrofoam cups or metal carafes. I personally think it would be wonderful to bring back the custom of having some quiet time in the afternoon around a beautiful set such as the one you have.

Tea sets with larger plates are referred to as DESSERT services or sets, with plates for different kinds of dessert; it's unusual to see oval plates.

However very well known, 'Noritake' as well as 'Nippon' are brands and products produced or sold by the Morimura Company of Japan. Most early pieces marked Nippon in western or in Japanese Kanji characters seems to have been manufactured by or sold through the company that later would become Noritake Company.

In 1910 the first china products from the new company could leave Japan for the U.S. The first reported U.S. registry for a Noritake back stamp for importing is 1911. Not until 1914, after a long series of trials and errors, was the first fine porcelain dinnerware suitable for export was produced. On of the first patterns to be produces was the "Sedan" (11292). A piece of the dinnerware in the Noritake factory in Nagoya shows this to be a bleak white plate with a cream border of small flower sprays and the typical Noritake back stamp, the letter "M" (for Morimura) in a wreath and the words "Hand painted." As a general rule the earliest dinnerware plates were mostly decorated with a liberal applications of gold. To identify the early Noritake porcelain, it is important to remember their intended adaptation to the western taste. The "M in a wreath" mark was used between circa 1914 until 1940. Your plates are from this time period.

With the first World War came the understanding of the need for industrialization. The company soon undertook the production of necessary machinery for the use in its potteries and would by the early 1920's introduce assembly line techniques allowing for mass production of high quality, yet affordable, dinnerware.

Noritake was one of the most popular names for dinnerware in the mid 20th Century; not only was it handsome and serviceable but it was also comparatively affordable. Increasingly few people today, however, entertain in such a formal way and the market is saturated with services of varying sizes, colors, etc. Because there is less demand than supply, fair-market / auction prices for Noritake remain low, typically bringing $4-8 PER PIECE.

While you have a relatively small service - and it's a shame these plates have been separated from the teapot, cream pitcher, sugar bowl, cups and saucers with which this would have originally been sold - the fact that yours is early, hand-painted and has a decorative scene rather than a repeating pattern, these plates are worth $6-9 each, though there is a premium that would be paid for multiples and this group has a fair-market value of $40-60.

Based on the photos and information provided, and subject to examination, this is:

An antique Noritake hand-painted parcel gilt part dessert service for six
made in Japan, early 20th Century
comprising six oval dessert plates with landscape decoration, stamped to the verso
(height) by width: 3-3/4 inches by depth: 2-1/4 inches
CONDITION: these are in good condition
PROVENANCE: acquired at a secondhand store
$40-60 for the set*
*represents a fair-market value for auction purposes; retail or asking price may vary.

Please let us know if you have additional items to appraise, or questions/concerns, and thank you again for using Mearto.
~ Delia