N over C Mark
Q: I have a beautiful Newcomb vase from the 1920s. It has a raised mark on the bottom that looks like the letter “N” over the letter “C.” The points of the “N” extend slightly beyond the “C.”
A: This isn’t a Newcomb Pottery vase. Although Newcomb Pottery used a similar ”NC” mark, it’s different from the mark on your vase. The Newcomb Pottery mark is a “C” with an “N” inside. The mark “N” on your vase is slightly larger than the “C.” Most Newcomb Pottery pieces were also incised with the artist’s initials, and date letter codes were printed on pieces made from 1901 to 1941. Newcomb Pottery made art pottery with matte finish and simple decorations, not vases with 3-dimensional figures. Your vase looks Victorian and was probably made by a European pottery.
4 responses to “N over C Mark”
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I have had pieces of this line of pottery over the years and recognized it as soon as I saw it. I would probably not have know it’s background were it not for a sticker that was attached next to the NC mark. It is UCAGCO, United China And Glass Co, USA distributors of this and many other Japanese products in the 1950’s. They presumably contracted with private firms that made a number of import products under their label. I would think that NC are the initials of the pottery where this vase was made but know one knows for sure. Hope this helps.
I remember having a few of this companies pieces over the years. One gave me the clue because of the sticker attached as well as NC. It is UCAGCO, United China And Glass Co, distributors of this and many other products in the 1950’s. They had factories in Japan that made their imports for them, not sure what the actual name of the pottery was though I presume it had N & C as their factory initials. Hope this helps.
I researched the mark you describe in the article, it’s a Japanese mark. A theory is that the NC stands for Nippon Ceramics, possibly made by Kowa or Miyao, Kowa produced figurines for Lefton. In different iterations the mark could be Arnalt or Lefton, depending on other marks on the piece, numbers, letters and so forth. It was typical of postwar Japanese companies to produce marks similar to obscure but prominent European and American companies.
I also have a piece of pottery with this mark in blue followed by the numbers 6900A , and above it in red it says PAT 450139. The marks are glazed on the bottom. I think this is an incense burner but I’m afraid to twist it apart for fear of breaking it (since it might be the design rather than meant to come apart. I wish I could send a photo. I was thinking the mark might be Camille Naudot, but it doesn’t really look like other things of his I have seen. Would love to know what it is though.