Hand Painted Nippon And Noritake Porcelain Excel At Jackson's Auction

CEDAR FALLS, IOWA

:East and West converged at Jackson's International Auctioneers during its August 13 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 $500,000.

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

The auction itself was laid out by style and theme, thereby allowing niche collectors to easily find and focus on their categories. Additionally, each piece was photographed and illustrated in a full-color catalog.

The day's top seller was a 21-inch bolted urn, finely painted with a scene of an Indian hunter holding a goose. Bidding opened at $12,000, finally closing with a winning bid of $20,500.

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 jug sold to buyer from New York for $2,585; a 13-inch vase featuring bleed-ing hearts that sold to an in-house buyer from Japan for $2,232; a 13-inch urn sold to a Japanese phone bidder for $2,115; and a 13-inch vase that did $1,645.

Other highlights of the sale included a rare 9-by-12-inch molded plaque depicting a fisherman smoking a pipe. Estimated at $7/10,000, it went back to Japan, selling for $15,275. Next up was a desirable molded Indian head tobacco humidor that went to a collector from Michigan for $7,050. That was followed by a rare children under a tree molded humidor that sold to a Texas collector for $8,800 against a preauction estimate of $3/5,000. A molded flying eagle humidor on white ground sold to a collector from Kentucky for $5,875, and a rare molded Johnny Appleseed vase crossed the block at $4,935.

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. An 11-inch Queen Louise portrait vase crossed the block at $5,640. A Kansas City collector paid $5,000 for an Indian and bear molded humidor, and a buyer from Germany spent $4,465 for a 10-inch portrait vase of Queen Louise. A 13-inch charger decorated with Bedouins on horseback sold for $3,995. An interesting gargoyle-decorated molded humidor sold to a New York buyer for $3,525, followed by a 6-inch molded rabbit night light that sold to a Japanese buyer for $3,290. A 9-inch Moriage decorated vase depicting geese in flight winged to Japan for $3,000, and a 12-inch vase depicting a woman with a pea-cock sold for $3,290.

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 $1,000 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 against a preauction estimate that some thought was high at $4/6,000. However, perhaps the biggest surprise of all in this category was a 4-inch inkwell in the form of a harlequin's head. It, too, sold to a Japanese buyer, bringing $3,760, more than double the high presale estimate.

A three-piece Noritake salt, pepper and mustard jar condiment set of figural clowns sold for $1,175; an 8-inch oval tray decorated with an Art Deco female snow skier made $1,57; a 31/2-inch "Betty Boop" decorated cover powder box sold for $1,000; and an 8-inch plate decorated with a southern belle sold for $940. A Japanese buyer paid $822 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.

At the end of the sale, Tenney, who was on hand throughout the auction, said he was thrilled. "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."

Jackson's operations director, Sandra Miller, said there were a good amount of extra catalogs for this sale printed because, "We thought collectors would love to have it for their reference library." Fully il-lustrated catalogs, together with prices realized, are still available on a first come, first served basis.

Prices reported include buyer's premium.

For information, 800-665-6743 or www.jacksonsauction.com.