Unidentified mark silver-plate vase

[SteveDWollongong]

Hi Trev,

Thanks for the compliment. I recall tracking you down some years ago(via Daniel Bexfield) regarding our mutual friend Jeremy Garfield. I apologise for not staying in contact but I lost your personal email address when my laptop spontaneously disintegrated some time ago.

I'll continue my internet sleuthing and try and contribute more to this iconic website in the future.

Cheers,
Steve

[davidross]

Many thanks for updating this thread and providing a positive ID.

With such a clear explanation, the yacht looks obvious. This Y-in-Yacht mark definitely dates from post-WWII, as it has nothing to do with the company's name or history. I imagine it was designed to match up the Y of Yamatogumi with something common in English that begins with the letter "Y." To update my earlier conjectures, while Yamatogumi might seem connected to the "yama" meaning "mountain" in Japanese, the characters for Yamatogumi are unrelated to the "yama" of mountain. Yamato is an ancient name for Japan.

Yamatogumi was still in operation in 1999, but its export production probably fell off dramatically after the 1970s.

What I've learned of the company's history can be found under Yamatogumi, in the CES and Far East Trade topic of Contributors' Notes:

viewtopic.php?f=38&t=24259&p=112898#p112898


Regards

DR

[WarrenKundis]

Yes thank you Steve, well done. And thank you David for fleshing out the company. On to next mystery.

Warren

[tigerchipz]

Gosh, i've been wondering for some time who made this vase, thanks.

[Traintime]

Finally solved? I think not! What you've uncovered is a hired translator's name used to describe the company logo, not the actually company name itself. Documentarians covering steamship history noted the Japanese ship firms often included the word Yusen in their names such as Nippon Yusen Kaisha ( the famous NYK line). No one knew what it meant...perhaps "good fortune" or "company" etc.. For all we know now, this could mean the " want to own a sailboat exporting company". Remember those famous words, "Don't give up the ship" . As to the comment on quality, just like the Chinese now, the Japanese made whatever the contract called for, good or bad. Some of that metal could have been from American steam locomotives hacked up for metal recycling.

[Traintime]

Does Yamatogumi (or Yamato-gumi) have a translation? Is it a proper name, a company name, the name of the founders of "Y-yacht" company, or anything decipherable. The Degenhart name used a "D" in a heart symbol and Carrhardt used a passenger car in one. Is their a Japanese correlation to this?

[marinab]

Hello everyone, i have a silver ashtray with this mark too but the "Y" is on the left side and no "made in n..". Could it be a repro?
Wl try to load a photo, still finding out how to :(

[runvs]

I have an item with the same Stylized Capital Y in a yacht (Although it looks more like a Sailboat to me!). Mine is also signed "Made in Occupied Japan" It is a Table lighter in the shape of a wooden oak barrel & made for & with the company name of (across & around the middle of the barrel) Petri Wine. I am an Antique Dealer & have seen similar hallmarks on toys & other metal items for the company called Yone & one called Yonezawa.