Japanese Seto Porcelain Vase, Kato Shubei II
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Pre 1900 item# 156787 (stock# 2B-616)
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203-929-7312
$375
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This fine Japanese blue and white porcelain vase is signed by the Seto sometsuke master, Kato Shubei II (1848-1903). It is beautifully hand painted with a bright, freely drawn underglaze blue foliate design of birds and flowers on a clear, almost translucent, white ground. The high quality decoration incorporates the classic Japanese design of karakusa (scrolling vines or arabesques) and karahana (China flowers). An underglaze blue triangular shaped border encircles the foot, which bears the six character blue signature of Kato Shubei II. (See e-yakimono.net for this and other examples of Seto sometsuke masters’ signatures.) Since the beginning of the 19th century, sometsuke (underglazed blue and white porcelain) has played an important role in Seto’s long ceramic history. In 1807 Kato Tamikichi, who had spent years studying the various kilns in Hizen Province, including the Arita kilns, came to Seto and started the production of porcelain. He successfully produced high fired, cobalt blue and white decorated porcelain wares, known as “Seto-Sometsuke.” By the middle of the 19th century, many other famous potters had settled at the various Seto kilns, and high grade porcelains decorated with underglaze blue designs continued to be made. Condition is perfect. Overall dimensions: 6 3/8” high, 4 ¼” diameter.
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Blue and White Arita Porcelain Sake Bottle
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Pre 1920 item# 80007 (stock# 2C-297)
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203-929-7312
$375
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This lovely Japanese blue and white Arita porcelain sake bottle (“tokkuri”) has an overall transfer printed decoration in the “mijin karakusa” pattern. Meiji period. The mijin karakusa pattern is one variation of the scrolling vine pattern, this one in the form of delicate denticulate leaves and little curls. (For a similar bottle, see “Japanese Porcelain: 1800-1950” by Nancy Schiffer, page 58.)This is one of the many vine patterns which appear on domestic market blue and white Arita and Imari wares. A blue double ring separates the karakusa pattern from a linear decoration near the foot, and there are three blue lines encircling the bottom of the bottle. The glazed base is recessed and the foot rim unglazed. 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. These humble storage bottles often have a greater appeal than export ware because they show a highly developed sense for matching materials, form and function with simple beauty. Condition is excellent. Overall dimensions: 8 ½” high, 5” diameter.
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Footed Japanese Koransha Porcelain Dish
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Pre 1920 item# 55004 (stock# 2B-462)
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203-929-7312
$185
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Elegant Koransha white porcelain footed dish with dramatic design of large underglaze blue leaves, small overglaze turquoise leaves and overglaze red enamel berries outlined in gold. Meiji/Taisho period. Two blue rings encircle the high foot, beneath which is found the Koransha mark of the scented orchid painted in underglaze blue. The subtle background shading moves from pure milky white at the top of the dish and changes to a lighter and then somewhat darker shade of blue as it surrounds the leaves and berries. This type of porcelain was made by the Fukagawa Koransha potters of Arita. In 1875, Ezaiemon Fukagawa founded Koransha (The Company of the Scented Orchid) in Arita. The next year, Koransha exhibited at the Philadelphia Exhibition, and in 1878 they exhibited in Paris. Koransha porcelains are noted for their excellence and consistent high quality. Condition is perfect. Overall dimensions: 9” diameter, 2 ¼” high.
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Large Seto Ware Porcelain Hibachi
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Pre 1920 item# 278852 (stock# 2B-677)
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203-929-7312
$975
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The overall design on this fine large Meiji period (1868-1912) Japanese blue and white porcelain hibachi in ovoid form is quite unique. The body is decorated with intersecting horizontal and vertical panels containing repeating symbolic motifs in underglaze blue and white and light celadon green. The top horizontal band has alternating designs of blue and white phoenix (ho-ho bird) and kiri (paulownia) tree flowers. The kiri flowers are contained within low relief diamond shape panels against a celadon ground with textured circles in low relief. The middle horizontal band contains blue and white peony flowers alternating with blue interlocking cash motif medallions. For additional contrast, these low relief medallions are set against a buff colored ground. The bottom horizontal band contains blue and white peony and scroll designs juxtaposed with solid celadon green panels with textured stripes. The top rim features a repeating blue floral motif. Hibachi were finely crafted braziers used in old homes and shops to provide heat, warm sake and boil water for tea. This portable fireplace was also the emotional center of the home, since family and friends gathered around its welcoming warmth. Ceramic hibachi made their appearance during the Meiji period and at once gained widespread popularity. A porcelain hibachi became the status symbol of the day. In today’s homes, these old hibachi make stunning coffee tables (just cover it with a round piece of glass) or impressive jardinieres. They are prized for their craftsmanship and can be utilized in many imaginative ways very different from their original purpose. We know of several collectors who use porcelain hibachi to display their treasures such as inro, netsuke, sword furniture or lacquer combs beneath the glass top. Throughout the 19th century, various Seto kilns produced high grade porcelains decorated with underglaze blue designs. Condition is excellent, with just some minor roughage on the upper interior rim, which is not unusual. The inside is discolored from use, which is normal. Dimensions: 19” diameter, 12 ½” high. Weight: approximately 50 pounds.
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Fine Japanese Ko Imari Sometsuke Dish 18th Century
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Pre 1837 VR item# 737267 (stock# 2-826)
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203-929-7312
$330
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This lovely Japanese Arita somestuke (blue and white porcelain) plate with a scalloped or “rinka” rim is decorated with a central medallion surrounded by a paneled border, and it dates to the Edo period (late 18th century). The interior edge of the dish is hand painted with an unusual honeycomb-like design which alternates with leafy sections. These panels surround a central medallion of shochikubai (pine, plum and bamboo) framed by a flower head band. “Sho” represents the pine tree for longevity, “chiku” represents the bamboo for tenacity, and “bai” represents the plum tree with is blossoms for beauty. The exterior is decorated with crisp underglaze blue designs of tightly-curled arabesque style tako-karakusa (scrolling octopus vines), and there is an apocryphal six-character mark of Chenghua (a Chinese emperor in the Ming Dynasty who set very high porcelain standards) on the foot painted in underglaze blue. Blue lines and a decorative band encircle the unglazed foot ring, and there are spur marks on the glazed foot. The blue is of the old impure native cobalt used prior to the introduction of a more refined imported mineral, and there is the characteristic slightly greenish tint to the white body from the glaze. The flat rim edge has a brown iron oxide (“beni”) finish, typical of the period.
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.
CONDITION is excellent. DIMENSIONS: 8 ¼” (21 cm) diameter, 1 ¼” (3.3 cm)
high.
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Marked Arita Sometsuke Foliate Rim Dish with Irises
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Pre 1920 item# 636239 (stock# 2-816)
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203-929-7312
$195
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This lovely Japanese blue and white porcelain (“sometsuke”) plate is boldly hand painted with large iris blossoms and a bud in brilliant cobalt blue on a clear white ground. Ca. 1900-1920, Meiji period. There is a single unidentified mark in underglaze blue on the reverse which looks somewhat like a “tama,” the sacred jewel motif. The shape of the dish with its scalloped rim, which has a thin cobalt blue border, is itself reminiscent of a flower blossom. The front is decorated with blooming irises in the foreground juxtaposed against the strong vertical leaves of the plant. The reverse is undecorated, and the thin unglazed foot is encircled with four cobalt blue lines.
The Iris (“shobu”), a sturdy, easily cultivated flower, represents the month of May and is also the main emblem of the Boys’ Day Festival. The long, flat, blade-shaped leaves are reminiscent of a sword, and thus this flower is emblematic of manly strength and has come to be symbolic of victory. Its stiff upright petals are likened to the outstanding character and virtues associated with ancient samurai warriors, and it can also be used to represent a wish for good health and renewed vitality.
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.
CONDITION is very good, with only three small rim frits, which are pictured in the last Enlargement Photo from the pencil point to the right side. DIMENSIONS: 8 5/8” (22 cm) diameter, 1 ¼” (3.3 cm) high.
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Japanese Imari Porcelain Dish Signed Hichozan Shinpo
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Pre 1900 item# 657281 (stock# 2-752)
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203-929-7312
$230
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This heavily-potted and molded Hizen Arita porcelain charger in octagonal form is decorated with thick overglaze enamels and sits atop a high combed foot rim. Early Meiji period, ca.1870. The reverse is signed in overglaze red enamel “Hichozan Shinpo Sei” (Made by Hichozan Shinpo). The rich hand painted iron red overglaze background of the outer rim has contrasting white scrolling vine design and contains four fan shaped medallions with floral and landscape designs in the classic Imari palette. A circle of flower blossoms fills the central medallion. There are eight pinwheel swirls emanating from the center to the outer rim which have been molded into this heavy deep dish. The exterior rim, which is decorated with six bats hand painted in iron red, surrounds the high combed foot rim painted in underglaze blue.
Hichozan was a trade name used by the group of Arita kilns and makers mainly for export during late Edo to Meiji period in the 19th century. “Hichozan Shinpo” was the trademark used by Tashiro Monzaemon, a merchant who expanded the export trade of Arita porcelains in the late Edo/early Meiji period. (See MEIJI CERAMICS by Gisela Jahn, page 320, for the Hichozan Shinpo mark.)
CONDITION is very good, with no chips, cracks or restoration. There is some minor glaze loss on the front due to normal wear and usage. DIMENSIONS: 11 ½” (29.4 cm) diameter, 2 1/8” (5.5 cm) high.
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Seto Sharkskin Porcelain Gourd Form Vase, Imura
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Pre 1910 item# 519992 (stock# 2B-789)
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203-929-7312
$295
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This finely potted Japanese porcelain vase with a bulbous onion gourd style neck was finished with a sharkskin texture and hand painted with a sparrow in flight above blooming flowers. Meiji period (1868-1912). The white porcelain base bears the distinctive matte black patent marks of Imura which can be dated to between 1890 and 1910. The ringed neck has a fluted lip which is edged in gilt. The soft blue textured background color subtly changes to a lighter shade of blue before finally fading to pure milky white at the bottom of the vase. A sparrow in flight, painted in crisp brown and black enamels, swoops down above the pink and white blossoms on lush green stems. Yokohama broker Imura Hikotaru began exporting finely decorated sharkskin-textured ceramics toward the end of the Meiji Era. Imura handled very high quality porcelains, including special-order products enameled by Kozan and other leading studios of the day. The distinguished artistry of signed Imura vases in many ways seems to represent a successful blend of European impressionism with the Kyoto porcelain-painting tradition. Sharkskin is a type of porcelain that must be felt to be appreciated, and its tactile qualities have been enhanced by moriage-type enamel embellishments. Condition is excellent. Dimensions: 6 ¼” high, 3 ½” diameter.
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Pair of Japanese Kakiemon Imari Vases, Meiji
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Pre 1920 item# 488623 (stock# 2B-778)
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203-929-7312
$1,495 for Pair
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These classic Arita porcelain vases in desirable fluted double gourd form are painstakingly decorated in Kakiemon style with soft overglaze enamels. Meiji period (1868-1920). The base bears a red “fuku” (good fortune or happiness) mark. The front of each vase is finely hand painted in the traditional Kakiemon palette of iron red, blue, green, aubergine and gold enamels over a clear bright white glaze. The elegant brushwork decoration includes a long-tailed ho-o bird (phoenix) and other small birds amid flowering chrysanthemums and blossoming paulownia in a stylized rock garden. A delicate lappet design surrounds the gilded lip, and the narrow waist is encircled by a scrolling vine and floral design. The thick foot ring surrounding the fuku mark is unglazed, the clay pure and smooth. Kakiemon is considered to be one of the finest of Japanese porcelains. These wares were always highly refined -- the body a very pure white, the colors brilliant and clear. Unlike the highly decorated Imari porcelains, there is a great restraint in the delicate designs which seldom cover more than one-third to one-half of the surface of the object. In Japan, the phoenix came to be a symbol of imperial authority, frequently combining with other motifs, especially the paulownia, that enjoyed similar status. Tradition holds that the paulownia is the only tree on which the legendary phoenix alights. Represented with the body of a pheasant and the tail feathers of a peacock, the ho-o bird signifies uprightness, humility, honesty and sincerity. Ho-o were said to mate for life and so served as a beautiful motif for gifts given to young brides. Condition is perfect. Dimensions: 7” (18 cm) high, 3 ½” (9 cm) diameter.
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Studio Porcelain Vase, Signed Shofu
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Pre 1920 item# 162546 (stock# 2B-630)
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203-929-7312
$850
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This important Japanese porcelain cabinet vase by distinguished studio potter Shofu Katei (1870-1928) is decorated with a pale green floral motif of water plantains on a darker green ground. Signed Shofu, ca. 1910. This high shouldered vase has a wide mouth and tapers to a narrower recessed base. The quality of the painting of the plantain flowers and leaves is realistically rendered and is very appropriate to the elegant shape of the piece. (An identical vase is illustrated on page 58 of "Japanese Export Ceramics: 1860-1920" by Nancy N. Schiffer.) Also known as Shofu Kajo, this potter was born in Seto, moving to Kyoto in 1890. Shofu excelled in hard-paste porcelains and was known for his blowout designs in multi-colored glazes. He is said to have invented several new techniques, including moriage porcelain. He was awarded the Green Ribbon in 1915. Shofu’s works are generally classified in the same league as those of studio potters Makazu Kozan and Seifu Yohei III. Examples of his porcelains are featured in “Treasures of Imperial Japan: Ceramics from the Khalili Collection” pages 42, 43 and 78. Condition is perfect. Overall dimensions: 3 ¾” high, 2 1/8” diameter at shoulder, 1 3/8” diameter at base.
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