Door of Hope dolls have become highly collectible treasures, in part, because of their fascinating history. In 1900, five missionary ladies started the Door of Hope Mission in Shanghai. They opened schools for destitute young girls so they could learn to support themselves. As a means to learn sewing skills, the girls dressed dolls. These beautifully created and utterly different dolls are magnificent in their carvings and costuming. Heads and hands were carved from Chinese “Niponga wood” or pear wood, a light colored hardwood that is tough and difficult to carve. In its natural color it resembles the ivory of the Chinese skin. Touches of paint were then added for the lips, eyes and hair. The dolls were supplied by craftsmen skilled in wood carving and then meticulously dressed in Chinese clothing with amazing detail by the young girls. Frog closures, tiny undergarments and minute embroideries all accented these wonderful garments.

There were approximately 26 standard and premium characters representing differing Chinese social classes. Each girl could dress only about one doll a month, and the relatively low volume of production of these dolls has increased their scarcity. Production of Door of Hope dolls continued until the Japanese invasion of Shanghai in 1937, at which time most of the estimated total production of 20,000 Door of Hope dolls had already been made. The Buddhist Priest is considered to be one of the harder-to-find premium Door of Hope characters, and this one would be a superb addition to any Door of Hope doll collection.

Hirado wares are considered to be among the finest porcelains ever made in Japan, and they are highly prized among today’s collectors. Hirado was produced at Mikawachi near Arita, and for much of its history was made under the patronage of the lords of Hirado. Aristocratic patronage ended in the 1830’s with the commercialization of the kilns; however, the quality of Hirado remained very high. Hirado ware consists of a very pure, fine-grained and high-quality white porcelain, usually decorated in underglaze cobalt blue. It is characterized by highly refined white clay that would be fired to high temperatures, and the glaze was lustrous and void of any kind of granulation.

The lotus (“hasu”) is a water flower that rises above large fan-shaped leaves, growing in still, shallow bodies of fresh water and mud. Buddhist traditions hold that the lotus is a sacred flower. In secular Chinese art, the lotus has many auspicious meanings, variously symbolizing harmony, love, sympathy and prosperity.

During the Muromachi period (1336-1573), Japan began to import great quantities of silk from China. Silk was one of the most important imports into Japan, and it is believed that ito-in were affixed to shipping cases containing silk. It may be that they were used to seal the package of silk, or that they were placed on receipts as proof of the transaction. Ito-in might also have been attached to silk shipments as a sort of certificate of the origin or quality of the goods. Ito-in means literally “thread seal.” They were also called “hakata-in,” or seals from Hakata, a trade port which played a leading role in the trade with China during this period.

Ito-in are bronze seals which are lighter in weight and smaller in size than traditional bronze seals. They were cast by a special method to make the inside of the grip hollow in order to minimize the weight, and the base was considerably thinner than ordinary seals. This indicates that ito-in were usually attached to something. Another name for them is “himo-in,” or “seals with cord.” Without exception, every existing ito-in has an aperture through which a cord can easily pass.

Experts differ on the question of whether these seals originated in Japan or China, and their origin is shrouded in mystery. Ito-in are not seals in the strict sense of the word -- they were not made for use exclusively as seals. They have engraved designs which look at first sight like strange forms of Chinese characters, yet with very few exceptions, they cannot be read. Moreover, there are duplicates in the inscriptions as well as in the figures on the grips, so they were presumably cast from the same mold which was used over and over again. If ito-in were made as seals, there should not have been duplicates. The grips were richly decorated with animal or human figures, and they were cast in numerous shapes. Their overall features had more in common with Yuan and Ming dynasty seals than with Japanese seals of the same time period. Additionally, the clothing, hair styles and facial expressions of the human figures used for the grip are definitely Chinese, and the handling of animal motifs is permeated with a strong Chinese influence. Despite this, ito-in were regarded as seals in Japan, as the name itself reveals. They were even used as personal seals by many daimyo, including Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who used ito-in often in their documents.

Ito-in are also of interest due to their considerable influence on the development of netsuke, but that is another whole area of discussion unto itself. We have learned these details from an incredibly fascinating article, “Ito-In Japanese Silk Seals: An Inspiration for Netsuke?” by Kinya Niiseki (ARTS OF ASIA, July/August 1979) where seals and stamps similar to this one are copiously illustrated.

The term “kimekomi” means to “tuck in” in Japanese. Silk brocade or crepe fabric was glued and tucked into grooves of the doll body made of wood or pulverized paulownia (kiri wood) mixed with jute fiber and glue. This method was first used with the clothes of wooden Kamo dolls.

Gold and silver inlays are a feature found only on tetsubin of superior quality, and fine ornamental tetsubin of this type were preferred by the upper classes for the sencha style tea ceremony. The paulownia leaf and flower, which is one of the most popular of all Japanese family crests (mon), bears a heavy load of legendary and historic significance. As an explicitly imperial mon, the paulownia ranks only slightly behind the chrysanthemum, and both are usually taken as the dual emblems of the Japanese throne. The stylized depiction of the leaves and blossom of the paulownia that adorn this vessel closely resembles the manner in which this tree is portrayed as a design motif and family crest rather than a realistic portrayal of the leaves and flower.

Tetsubin can be classified according to their level of quality, separating those of higher technical quality and more decorative external features – the so-called “ornamental” and “standard” kettles – from those of lower technical quality and less decorated ones – the so-called “rural” and “kitchen” kettles. Ornamental tetsubin like this one are wonderful examples of Japanese ironwork which are very much sought after by collectors today. A similar tetsubin was featured in the “Elegance in Iron” exhibit at the Morikami Museum and is illustrated in Figure 12 of the accompanying catalog.

Japanese metalwork, technically and artistically, has been unrivaled by that of other cultures for many centuries. In Kyoto, the Komai family was recognized for its fine decorative metalwork during the Meiji period. Made by a very difficult process of metalwork, Komai wares typically had a base of iron or steel which was decorated with minute bits of gold and/or silver and copper in exquisite detail. Their most successful products were generally small items such as this table screen. Also called damascene, high quality Komai wares are highly collectible.

Oversized dishes (“ozara”) first became popular among the wealthy urban elite in the 16th century, and paintings since the Edo period often depicted ozara as an important part of the décor for formal gatherings. In the19th century, when ordinary townspeople had become affluent and restaurants multiplied, the popularity of large blue and white dishes became even more widespread. In response to this new affluence, large dishes were produced in some quantity and sold throughout Japan. With the penetration of urban culture to rural districts due to improved land and sea transportation, Arita porcelain became widely distributed, and many of these oversized dishes were used at large dinner parties held by leading families in rural districts.

Arita is a town on the island of Kyushu which has been a center of Japanese porcelain production since the seventeenth century. With Arita blue and whites, the blue is produced from a cobalt or indigo pigment and is painted straight onto the biscuit, after which the piece is glazed and fired. Ceramics for everyday use were made at the same kilns that were producing highly ornate, purely decorative wares primarily for export. Blue and white sometsuke porcelain ozara in this style were made for the domestic Japanese market, and they are prized by Japanese collectors today. Antique Arita chargers decorated with this particular molded rabbit motif are much sought after due to their rarity.

The reverse is simply decorated with underglaze blue kanji characters, and the base is marked with a blue mark character that says “deer” framed within a diamond. There is a hole at the base of the cask which once held a plug, and a metal carrying handle wrapped in bamboo has been fitted into the two porcelain loops on the top. Horizontal and vertical rope designs have been molded in high relief to simulate an actual straw-wrapped keg. A porcelain stopper molded in rope form has a cork lining to hold it securely in place. It is rare to find these casks with the original porcelain tops intact. See similar barrel form porcelain casks illustrated in Figure 123 of the article “Tokkuri and Friends” which appeared in ARTS OF ASIA magazine, January/February 1995.

This porcelain cask has been molded to resemble the straw-wrapped cypress kegs (“komokaburi”) used for transporting sake, with high relief molded “ropes” to hold the molded “straw wrapping” in place. During the Edo period, rural sake brewers needed a method of transporting their brew to the large cities. These large porcelain casks could be carried on pack horses or transported on special ships called “taru kaisen” or cask ships. Until the 1940’s, they continued to be used to dispense draft sake in shops. Customers would come into the shop with their own smaller ceramic bottles and have them refilled with their favorite brand. These large casks are handsome decorative items that make an appealing accent to any décor, either by themselves or recycled into lamps.

The engraved four character signature “Echigo No Kami Saku” (“Guardian of Echigo Made”) is not the name of the artist but instead represents his ranking. The title “Guardian of Echigo” is an example of the many old court ranks which were conferred on craftsmen during the Edo period. Casters who set themselves up in the provinces sought the protection and patronage of local daimyo (feudal lords) who needed bronze and iron wares as gifts and offerings. The signature does not necessarily imply a link with Echigo province in northwestern Japan.

This type of bulbous bronze flower vase was used by the Ikenobo school, which is the oldest school of Japanese flower arrangement (ikebana). Kyoto was the birthplace both of ikebana and of the bronze flower vessel, and scrolls dating from the second half of the 17th century show the first examples of this most characteristic of Japanese bronze forms, the so-called futabana (two-flower) vase. By 1698, the futabana seems to have become one of the most popular ikebana vase forms, with handles that predominantly included shishi, butterflies, dragons and hares. With the emergence of flower arrangement and the tea ceremony as distinctively Japanese cultural pursuits, bronze casters began to develop new and innovative forms of vessels loosely based on Chinese originals but with an unmistakable Japanese elegance. These culminated in large bronze vases cast in exaggerated form for the classic, formal rikka style of flower arrangement, prevalent in the 17th century and early 18th centuries. (A similar shishi-handled futabana flower bronze, housed in the collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum, is illustrated on Plate 46 in the sumptuous book entitled FLOWER BRONZES OF JAPAN by Joe Earle.) This is an important and impressive showpiece.

PROVENANCE: This vase came from the Museum of Missionary Sisters Immaculate Conception. The sisters of this order were missionaries in Japan and China since the late 19th century. They brought Asian items back for their museum in Montreal, Canada. This museum is now closed.

Tominaga Genroku (1859-1920) was one of the principal potters of Ureshino near Arita. He began the Genroku Studio during Meiji period with the goal of producing the highest quality porcelain in the traditional Imari manner of the 18th century. He did this by revitalizing the kilns of the Ureshino yaki potters who worked in the area in the late 16th/early 17th centuries. In the mid-18th century, the Ureshino potters operated under the patronage and protection of Lord Nabeshima, a name connected with the finest Japanese porcelains.

Genroku was a highly skilled Japanese-style painter and potter as well as a teacher at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts. He exhibited his work only at Japanese exhibitions, and later he became head of the Protection of Cultural Properties Commission. He won a “santo shohai” (third prize) at the Fifth National Industrial Exposition in 1903. Genroku’s works are highly regarded and are considered to be of the caliber of those by more widely known studio potters such as Makuzu Kozan. Examples of his porcelains are featured in the world famous Khalili Collection entitled “Treasures of Imperial Japan.”