Q: My parents received a china candy dish as a wedding gift in 1944. It has a vertical brass handle in the center. The mark on the bottom is a pair of straight-sided M’s within a diamond, all within a fancy green and yellow cartouche. Under the cartouche is the stamped phrase, “Made in Japan.” Can you tell me who made the dish and what it’s worth?

A: The mark on your dish has been identified as one used by Moriyama Pottery, a company founded around 1911 in Mori-machi, a town in Shizuoka Prefecture. The china dish was either made before World War II, or the family story about when your parents received the gift is incorrect. The “Made in Japan” mark was also used again starting in late 1949.

 

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