Nippon Mark Forged Vintage Decoration Copied

Another shot has just been fired in the growing assault on Nippon ceramics. Another new wreath mark is in use which has the closest resemblance yet to an authentic wreath mark. Although it's applied as a decal, this new mark has a loose hand-painted appearance. The wreath is also egg-shaped. An original wreath mark, also applied as a decal, has quite sharp lines that appear machine printed. This is especially true in the word "NIPPON"; the old having crisp sharp lines, the new having irregular lines.

Virtually all old wreath marks are proportional in size to the piece they marked. The original wreath mark on a large original bowl, for example, is generally bigger than the original mark on a hat pin holder. Although the new marks do show some variation, they are more consistent in size. Measuring from the top of the "P" to the bottom of the word "Nippon", most new marks are ¾".

Fig. 1 Confusing Nippon mark on new imports. It has a looser, "hand painted" look compared to the original in Fig. 2. Actual size of this new mark is ¾" top to bottom. Also note the oval, egg-shape of the wreath.

Fig. 2 Original Nippon wreath mark. The original wreath mark has a "printed" look with crisp edges especially in the word "NIPPON". The old wreath is also more nearly circular than the new wreath.

Fig. 3 (New) 5″ hatpin holder - The new mark is on blanks with this new decoration of pink roses with lots of raised gold trim.

Fig. 4 Detail view of the pattern on the new hatpin holder. Note the use of gold and raised enamel beads. This pattern is very similar to a vintage design that appears on vintage pre-1922 Nippon.