Noritake Chikaramachi China Thousand Faces Handled Cake Plate
Antique 1930s Japanese Noritake Chikaramachi bamboo handled cake plate
Hand painted in vibrant colors with gold accenting
Finely detailed designs and rows with a thousand gold faces
There is a very tiny chip in the rim and a couple of small chips in the footed base on the back, very hard to see â please see pictures
There is some darkening around the holes in the plate where the bamboo handles go, possibly darkening from the bamboo handles or from when the plate was made
Plate comes with its bamboo handle which fits into the holes in the slightly scalloped edges
One of the four ends is missing its original bamboo wrap and the wire underneath the bamboo is exposed
Measures 9 6/8 inches x just under 9 1/4 inches
Back of plate marked with crest in red:
Chikaramachi
Hand Painted
Made In Japan
This back stamp was a second series of three back stamps that was registered in 1928. There are no records indicating the significance of the blue, green or red color varieties
Chikaramachi has been an integral part of the history of Noritake china since 1896. Little documentation exists today because nearly all the early records were lost when an incendiary bomb destroyed the home offices of Noritake in 1945
Although it is unknown why Noritake developed and identified Chikaramachi as a separate line, there are several indicators that point to it being an apprenticeship program. First, the quality of the porcelain of many Chikaramachi pieces is quite crude having numerous imperfections and rough, unfinished edges. Second, the painting on many of the pieces is not up to Noritake standards with little consistency in layout and a definite lack of finesse in the brushwork. There are pieces that are the equal of the best of Noritake, almost as if they were produced on a trial basis to perfect the design before allowing their integration into the parent company lines. It's not known when they stopped using the Chikaramachi back marks, but all production, along with U.S. exports, ceased in 1942
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