Hello, Thanks everyone :) Wanye - I too finally came to the conclusion that it was a blotched water snake. I did not get help from my local wildlife center. I sent in the image and was told that it was a dimaond back. I knew this was not correct. I was then told it was the blotched water snake by - Clint at Texassnakes.net. He was very nice and quite helpful (SUPER NICE GUY). The animal control officer that I sent the image to, said it was a yellow belly water snake, whatever - I dont care as long as it is not a cottonmouth. I have let the snake alone - and will purchase some tongs if I need to relocate it because my husband just cannot come to grips with a water snake in our yard. Otherwise - it is free to live in my garden. Besides with the water source, if he were to kill this one, there would just be more anyway, especially since I have seen the babies for two summers now. Me and my fourteen year old daughter are perfectly ok with being bitten by a non-venomous snake. It only hurts for a little while, not much more than a bee sting in my humble opinion. Speeking of bee stings - I hate to kill things - so much -that a couple of years ago - I moved a honey bee hive (see I truly do hate to kill) I called a couple of beekeepers, and no one would come out - so I moved them myself :)-(Thank God my husband was working in Japan - he would have totally freaked out on this one too) Only ended up with two stings - and that is because when I went back for the second load of bees, guess I did not get the queen the first time. I was too lazy to tape my sleeves to my gloves. I moved them a couple of blocks away to a open field. I looked so funny carrying a box of bees, dressed all in white - and having a hat and my husbands old jersey stretched over it, I had to peek through the holes in the shirt. (my home made version of a bee keepers suit:) I can only imagine what the people driving down the main road where thinking!!! Back to the snakes. I would like to know however - are they agressive by nature, or only if provoked? Meaning, do they try to reatreat if given the chance, or do they stand their ground - there are only a few of these types snakes that I am aware of, but not sure about the water snakes. Thanks for all the help - RT

Copied from the Gotheborg site...... Nagoya Seito Sho - N&Co, Nagoya, Nippon - Narumi Seito Sho - Meito China In 1908 Nagoya Seito Sho Company was founded by Kotero Asukai, former employee of Noritake. Other Noritake artisans were soon to follow to teh new company why this porcelain might bear a close resemblance to Noritake porcelain. Their wares was also market Meito China. During the WWII the company was sold and the name changed to Narumi Seito Sho. The Meito China mark continued to be used after WWII with variations in the crown logo mark. Some porcelain with Meito China marks are found with the addition "Made in occupied Japan". N&Co Nagoya Nippon Porcelain. Purchased in the U.S. in the early 1920's Click here to see large picture

There are a few other examples of this same rose chintz pattern marked with the MM on the internet. Replacements has a small category of dinnerware listed simply as MM Japan. No pictures are shown of the undersides on that site to see their marks. I'm thinking Linda is right in the ballpark on the time frame of manufacture. Maybe a little earlier but not 'old' china by any stretch. I'm thinking as well it may be vinegar and oil cruets made for export. I am smiling, however, because I think the black O over the spout might was to identify the OIL cruet. And the other should have the black V but is also marked O. IOW you have two OIL cruets. Mistakes like these were not so uncommon in cheaper exported items in the post war years when the markets were flooded with pottery items from Japan and aside from the very established makers like Moriyama and Noritake were not always quality controlled. What also makes me wonder about this being a more mundane item is the MM mark. Moriyama used an M over M mark with a wreath. Their pottery was located in Mori-Machi Japan and that area is still associated with a high end potting business. It makes you wonder if the MM mark is not an effort to make people associate the ware with more prestigious companies and play off their names. I hope you make a discovery and find out it's a valuable piece, but I also suspect the possibility is great it was produced by one of the many little potteries who represented economical Asian exports before China stepped in to be the major suppliers. If you do find out any information on it's manufacturer, I love to see you share it with us so we'll know the next time we see it on an item. Good luck.

The article is a little misleading in its explanation. Noritake was an early (and current) firm and it did indeed incorporate some smaller companies into its structure IOW gobbled up smaller companies.......so it's correct to say a lot of early Nippon pieces may be made by Noritake or companies who later produced under Noritake, but for one thing, I doubt this plate is that old. The second being that Nippon simply means Japan in Japanese and an article marked Nippon could simply mean it was made in Japan by any one of a number of companies, and there were and still are many china manufacturers. A lot of collectors called anything marked Nippon Noritake and it surely is not. That's like calling any tissue a kleenex because Kleenex is the most well known brand. The mark in the center is going to be your definitive clue. I don't know it right off and have not time to look it up but that's what I'd be researching.