I have 12 place settings plus quite a few serving pieces of Imari that my grandparents had custom made in Japan during the early 1950’s. On the back it says Imari Gold. It has been in storage for years and we would like to sell it. Any idea of its value or where we could find a buyer? There are also some very large platters in the same design.
I’ve attached a couple of pictures.
Thank you!
Wendy
That is the reason I suggested an auction house !! Without seeing how many pieces of each and knowing what the individual serving pieces are and how big they are, I would have to just guess !! I am not sure what you mean when you say “Custom Made” this s not something that would be done on china intended for export as this one is !! They probably just selected the pattern !! Imari was the port city that much of this china was shipped from to the U.S. and other places !! It was never sold for use in Japan !! Over the years Imari became its identification name !! Most everything made in that area and shipped from that port was known as Imari porcelain !!
Because so much was sold piece by piece and in small groups that having a complete set of one pattern is rare !! There you have an advantage !! I think there are collectors groups for Imari porcelain !! Let me check !!
Darn,, if there is a collectors group I can`t find one !!
I am in NE Texas !! Where in OK are you,,I will check and see if there is a good one !! Another option would be your local Craigslist !! If you are in a smaller town go with the largest town within a reasonable driving distance !! I have sold many things on Craigslist with excellent results !! Of course these were boats, RV`s ect !! But its a good option for selling the whole set !! And its free to list !! No fee`s !! An auction would be a 25% of the selling price as their fee !! Craigslist is easy to post your set !! Only drawback is you have to post one town/area at a time and must retype the whole thing if you change towns !! But it covers a wide area !! I have listed things in the Texarkana area and wound up selling to someone in Oklahoma !! They always show items you are looking for in surrounding areas as well !!
You would do better if selling them as a set to contact a good auction house if there is one near you !! Any reputable mid level auction with a good client base should be able to handle a set like this !! Selling online would require splitting the set and selling piece meal !! The auction would be able to asses value in your area and should tell you what to expect !! However the drawback is that you can never outguess the buying public !! Consider putting a reserve on it !!
I am in the OKC area. I think the closest auction house that would handle this is probably in Dallas. I would list it for sale but I have no idea of the value. Does anyone have any idea of the value of this?