Eggshell Porcelain | Blue & White | Dai Nippon-Great Japan | Asian Exportware

Unblemished example of Japanese eggshell porcelain, in beautiful original Imari blue and white pattern decorated with 22K gold.

Its notoriously difficult to date Japanese porcelain, since it was commercially oriented, made for export and inconsistently marked with the name of the pattern, or the importer, or the exporter...well it goes on. We know at least that the mark at the top means Dai Nippon or "Great Japan" and although its generally accepted that this mark is from the Meji Period (1868-1912), the mark was used by others too. According to the great database gotheborg.com this one probably dates from the 1940s-50s.

Cup diameter 9.5cm
Saucer diameter 14cm

There are several examples of the cup and saucer in stock, plus a matching milk jug. There is some wear on the gilt and one of the cups has an uneven rim, although this appears to be from the manufacturing rather than a chip.