Knowles Utility Plate Appraisal

Knowles Utility Plate with Eastern China 22K Gold Finish

This is the underside of a vitrified ceramic plate featuring two distinct manufacturer's marks. The base color of the china is an off-white or creamy ivory glaze. The most prominent mark is a green underglaze stamp for Knowles (Edwin M. Knowles China Co.), an American pottery manufacturer. This stamp includes the stylized 'K' banner crest and the alphanumeric code 'USA 52-11', which suggests a production date around November 1952. Adjacent to this is a secondary gold-overglaze stamp for 'Eastern China U.S.A.', noting a '22 K. GOLD' finish. This indicates that the plate blank was manufactured by Knowles and then decorated or finished with metallic gold accents by Eastern China, a practice common in the mid-20th century. The plate features a smooth, shallow foot ring and a high-gloss glaze finish. Physically, the item appears to be in fair to good vintage condition with visible minor brown spots (rust or mineral staining) on the surface and slight wear consistent with its age of approximately 70 years. There are no immediate signs of significant chips or cracks visible in this orientation, though the gold stamp shows slight fading.