The above photo shows various china restaurantware naval antique platters, antique plates or bowls being displayed on a dining room table crafted from a restored WWII Liberty Ship Hatch Cover
Large WWII Imperial Japanese Navy Serving Platter - Note the cherry blossom in middle of anchor. There were two other identified patterns that the Imperial Japanese Navy used besides this one, Click HERE for Japanese Naval Collection.
Large WWII Third Reich German Kriegsmarine (translates: War Navy) Platters one with green stripes and the other with red stripes. On the bottom all German Navy or Kriegsmarine will have the Third Reich Eagle and below it a Swastika and below that a letter M. There is a third identified pattern with outside 2 thin stripes being gold and larger inner stripe being blue. Click HERE for More WWII German Kriegsmarine Navy Tableware
Large Netherlands Koninklijke Marine (KM) or Royal Navy Tureen or Serving Bowl. Click HERE For More Netherlands Koninklijke Marine or Royal Navy Tableware
Large Size Soviet Navy USSR Serving Dish or Platter. 11" from handle to handle with the post-WWII Soviet Navy Insignia VMF.. Click HERE For USSR Soviet Navy Tableware
Huge 18" x 12" x 2.5" Pre-WWII Russian Red Navy Platter Produced in the late 1920's to mid/late 1930's. Has the Traditional Russian Fouled Anchor and Striping with initials "RKVMF" which stands for Raboche-Krest'yanskaya Voyenno-Morskoy Flot and translating to "Workers-Peasants Military Maritime Fleet" of Russia
Medium Size Pre-WWII Russian Navy or Soviet Union People's Navy Serving Dish. Click HERE For USSR Soviet Union Russian Navy Tableware
Above photos illustrate a VERY rare 1890's to 1910 Austro Hungarian Navy large size serving platter, 17" x 11.5". Click HERE For Kaiserliche und Konigliche (KuK) Kriegsmarine Porzellan Dinnerware and Tableware
Photos above illustrate an Italian Navy Serving Bowl, approximately 10" across and 4" high, in a scallop seashell pattern with the Royal Crown over a Twisted Arm Naval Fouled Anchor currently in use today. We also have a matching small oblong serving dish as well. Unlike most of the worlds navies the contemporary post-WWII Italian Navy was very stylistic and contemporary in designing its naval china dinnerware. Click HERE For more vintage and contemporary Italian Navy dinnerware.
Large Modern Day Royal Canadian Navy Combined Armed Forces Double Badged Serving Platter - Note the topmark of the combined services: British Royal Crown, combined crossed swords, propeller and anchor all surrounded by maple leaves. Click HERE For More Royal Canadian Navy Dinnerware
Royal Canadian Navy Serving Platter (pre-Combined Armed Forces) - Note the badge consisting of a fouled anchor, British Royal Crown surrounded by maple leaves. Made by Medalta of Canada with what appears to be a 1952 date code. Click HERE For More Royal Canadian Navy Dinnerware
Royal Australian Navy (RAN) 9" oval china platter with associated topmark. Click HERE For More Royal Australian Navy Dinnerware
British Royal Navy Meat Platter, 17.5"x14" and weighing 5lbs! The topmark illustrates the traditional British Navy Royal Crown atop an oval medalion with a fouled anchor surrounded by the latin text "SIGIL OFFI MAG ADMIR MAG BR &C" translated to "The Seal of the Office of the Lord High Admiral of Great Britain, etc". Note the juice drains and collecting pocket are very similar to the US Navy and Confederate States Navy's turkey servers or platters as shown on this page. Click HERE For More British Royal Navy Dinnerware
Medium Size USCG US Coast Guard Serving Dish. Click HERE For More USCG Coast Guard Officer and Enlisted Mess Tableware
RARE Medium Size WWII to Vietnam era US Navy Wardroom Officer's Anchor 12x6" Oval Bowl with Flanged Sides. Click HERE For More Wardroom Officers Mess
RARE Medium Size WWII US Navy Captain's 9" Oval Bowl with Flanged Sides. Click HERE For More Captains Mess Tableware
Large Size (22" x 10" and heavy!) bottom dated 1898 US Navy Senior Officer's Fish Server - Pattern and insignia has been verified to have been in use as early as 1894. Click HERE For More Antique US Navy History Dinnerware Topmark Rank and Identification
Very Large Size (20" x 14" and heavy!) Civil War era to the 1890's US Navy Senior Officer's Turkey, Poultry or Meat Serving Platter or Bowl. We have a number of pieces of china with this specific USN insignia but were never able to determine a specific manufacturer or production date due to lack of bottom marks. However most recently we have come to obtain a Serving Dish which had both a manufacturer and date, see below! Click HERE For More Antique US Navy History Dinnerware Topmark Rank and Identification
Medium Size Serving Dish (12" x 5") used in the Officers Wardroom Mess bottom marked "James M. Shaw & Co. New York 1892". Note that this serving dish has the exact same topmark stylized USN as does the Fish Server but also has a manufacturer and date as the backstamp verifying provenance, 1892.
Click HERE For More Antique US Navy History Dinnerware Topmark Rank and Identification
Huge Fish Serving Platter (22" x 10") Part of the Official Navy-issued China produced for the Secretary of the Navy.
Note the 4 Star Flag with Fouled Anchor to the left and the Union Jack (with 45 white stars) to the right, along with the initials USN placed between. This was the official flag of the Secretary of the Navy back then and still is today!
In dating this piece, each star in the Union Jack represents a state. In 1896 Utah was added as the 45th state in the Union and an additional star was added to the national flag and the union jack for a total of 45 stars. This number of states and stars remained the same for 12 years when in 1907 Oklahoma joined the Union as the 46th state, Click Here to Review List of States as Entered by Date into the Union).
The fish server has a manufacturers backstamp with a capital "M" above the word "CHINA" which is above a capital "L" which was the bottom mark used by the Maddock Lamberton China Company ca 1890's-1911! This backstamp has been documented and can be seen in Barbara Conway's authoritive "Restaurant China Identification Guide, Volume 2".
During this period in question there were 2 or 3 Secretarys of State appointed by President Teddy Roosevelt, but since this china was made for the Office of Secretary and not to the individual it stands to reason that it was probably be used by all of them.
Additionally, we here at The Pirates Lair have been fortunate enough to obtain a pedestal candy or dessert dish using the exact same topmarks as the above fish server with a backstamp indicating that it was made by "Theodore Haviland, Limoges, France" and "Higgins & Setters, New York, October 25 190x". Based upon this evidence of multiple manufacturers the indication is that this pattern style and topmark was standardized by the US Navy ca very early 1900s
Shown to the left in the photograph is a very large (19" x 14") and heavy Civil War Confederate States Navy (CSN) Navy Meat or Poultry Server or Platter. Note the design similarities between the US Navy and British Navy Meat and Poultry Servers. The photo to the right shows the CSN Insigina and Motto "Aide Toi Et Dieu T'Aidera" which translates "Help yourself and God will help you"
Click HERE For More Confederate States Navy Dinnerware
Large Size, (18" x 13" and heavy) late 1890's to 1920s, US Navy Wardroom Officer's Meat Platter or Serving Platter. Note the simple square chain design around the rim without any other identifying topmark.
Both the manufacturer's and distributor's marks on the backstamp is well known: "Greenwood China made expressly for the U.S. Navy - James M Shaw Co, NY". It has been suggested that this platter is ca-1860's Civil War era however we disagree since Greenwood China was only incorporated as the "Greenwood China Company" in 1868 and did not begin to make heavy gauge vitrified commercial china until 1876.
The James M. Shaw Company was founded in 1828 and was sold in 1936. However the US Navy began to standardize on it's china dinnerware patterns in the very learly 1890's and this "Linked Chain" pattern may or may not have been one of them. Also as documented, the James Shaw Co. began offering/selling its china wares to the US Navy in the very early 1890s. So therefore the dating of this platter must be from the early 1890s to as late as the 1920s seems to be reasonable.
Note 03/07/2013: Four Demitasse Cups and Saucers have recently been discovered with the "Chain Link" Pattern and backstamped by the "Buffalo China Co" with various dates of 1919, 1925 and 1927 which helps to further date this platter and design pattern.
Furthermore, in finding these cups and saucers it furthers the supposition that this "linked chain" pattern was part of a larger dinnerware set that needed to be maintained in service since we now have two different china producers making the exact same design. Click Here to Review the Demitasse Cups and Saucers found in this pattern and available For Sale!
Medium Size WWI to WWII US Navy Plain White Enlisted 10" Oval Serving Bowl. Bottom stamped Scammell U.S. Navy. Click HERE For More US Navy Enlisted Mess and Galley Dinnerware
Medium Size Vietnam-era USMC US Marine Corps 10" Serving Dish. Bottom stamped Syracuse China USMC. Click HERE For More USMC Marine Corps Officer and Enlisted Mess Tableware
WWII US Navy China by Officer Rank Insignia Topmark |
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The Real Deal! Fully Restored Antique Trunks Like Sea Chests, Pirate Chests, Treasure Chests - Perfect as a Naval Retirement Gift, use as a Shadowbox and to store Uniforms and Service Memorabilia! |
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Custom Designed, Handcrafted, and Hand Lettered in Caligraphy on your Antique Chest |
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Customer Photographic Examples of our Antique Trunks Being used as a Military or Naval Retirement Shadow Box and Storage Chest!! |
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