11/11/2021
Noritake Lexington tea set from between 1963-1968 based on backstamp; the pattern was available from 1963-1971. Each piece has a wreath of a two-toned olive-colored vine adorned with tiny grape clusters. The decoration is completed with a platinum trim on the rim of each piece, on the rim of the lid handles of the sugar bowl and teapot, and on the handles on the side of the teacups and teapot. The minimalist pattern allows the tea set to pair nicely with Art Deco, shabby chic, and daily use dinnerware. We have showcased the set with shabby chic dinner and dessert plates and a vintage garden motif ceramic vase. Noritake was started by the Morimura brothers in 1876, NY, as Morimura Gumi, an import company, in order to use foreign trade to bring foreign currency into Japan. The business began by exporting Japanese antiques into NY but expanded into dinnerware after being inspired by European porcelain at the World Exposition in Paris in 1889. After spending years to learn porcelain manufacturing techniques in order to make white porcelain from Japanese materials, in 1904 the brothers established Nippon Toki Gomei Kaisha a factory in Noritake, Japan, to create western style dinnerware for export. However, it was not until 1914 that the factory made the first porcelain dinnerware suitable for export. All Noritake dinnerware was hand painted until the 1920’s when the company introduced assembly line techniques to mass produce high quality porcelain dinnerware. The company became an innovator in the various processes for making and decorating porcelain and, as part of its business model, began selling its equipment to manufacturers in various other fields including electronics, engineering, and automobiles. Although Noritake has been using “Noritake” on its backstamp sine the 1920’s, it did not officially change its company name to Noritake until 1981, when Japan allowed it to register a place name…Noritake…as a trademark. See more photos and purchase this tea set at .etsy.com/shop/TheCharmedTable.
