Asianart.com | Associations | Articles | Exhibitions | Galleries

Ceramics are completely outside my area of expertise. I believe this piece is Satsuma. I would like to know if the artist is anyone of significance, approximately how old it is, and whether it has any value.

diameter: 14-1/8th� (36cm)
depth: 2� (5cm)

It is stored in wooden box with hand-brushed kanji.

Thank you.

Paul,

A very nice quality Satsuma plate. Taisho period (1912-1926).

Sorry... Someone who better understands Japanese will need to translate. But the quality indeed speaks volumes.

Reagrds, Edward Shumaker

Actually, this is most likely Kutani. I say that based on the decorative style and the mark. You don't say how large the piece is, but it dates to the 1st half of the 20th Century and has som decorative value.

Hi Paul,

I believe the mark on your nice plate reads "Kutani Kinzan".

Best regards,
Keith

Actually there was a hybrid of styles in the early 20th century, whereas you had some Kutani artisans that went to work in some of the Satsuma factories.

If your plate is an earthenware, then it is Satsuma. If it is porcelain, then it is Kutani.

Give a tap with the backside of your fingernail, it if gives a pitched tone, its porcelain. If it gives sort of a low thud type sound, then it is earthenware.

In one of the Japanese characters located to the lower left, reads Zan. This indicates a Satsuma artisan; you have Kozan, Kinkozan, Choshuzan, Taizan, etc.

For your reference I have up-loaded five Satsuma plates from the Christies auction in South Kensington. The group went for 3300.00 sterling.
They are attributed to Kinkozan.

The style is like Kinkozan, but perhaps someone can translate the other characters.

Regards, Edward Shumaker

For your reference, five Satsuma plates attributed to Kinkozan. Though your plate was done by another artisan, yet the style is similiar.

There was a hybrid of styles combining both Satsuma and Kutani elements in the early 20th century.

I would have to disagree with Mike on this one, and yet give a Taisho period date (1912-1926)

Regards, Edward

Thank you very much Mike, Keith and Edward for all of your valuable input. I also posted my inquiry on a kanji forum: http://www.jref.com/forum/showthread.php?t=26506 Between the responses there (especially by �undrentide�) and here, this is what I have come up with so far.

The markings on my dish and on the box 九谷錦山 are Kutani Kinzan. Kutani being the area and Kinzan being the specific workshop/kiln where this was produced. There is one Kutani Kinzan seal exactly like mine here: http://www.gbouvier.com/Seal/s_list_kaku.htm

My piece is Kutani porcelain, with a beautiful ring to it when tapped. Also, there are no crackle marks anywhere, which I understand is a common Satsuma characteristic.

According to �undrentide� on the kanji forum, none of the writing on the dish or on the box indicates a specific artist.

To my eyes, the style is perhaps more typical of Satsuma than Kutani. That�s why I originally assumed that�s what it was. So maybe it was done by a Satsuma artist working at Kutani Kinzan during the period when the two styles were borrowing from each other.

As for age, I haven�t seen anything that would disagree with the Taisho period date (1912-1926) that Mike and Edward have indicated.

Isn�t the Internet amazing! Months of valuable research conducted in a matter of only hours.

Thanks once again.

Paul

PS � Thank you, Edward for those pictures. They are the closest I have seen yet to what I have here. Especially in regard to the more or less muted colors, the naturalistic flower and bird theme, and the lustrous gold background.

Paul Wagner:
I agree with Edward, Mike, and Keith�
"Kutani Kinzan" is from 1906 and has three generations.
Enclosed is very useful information for your reference.
Regards

Sinoart

UPDATE:

Today I have been in contact with a Japanese person who recently sold a Kutani Kinzan vase on eBay that had the exact same seal marking as mine. I sent her a scan of the two papers that were in the box with my plate.

She says, �The writing on the paper is a history of the Kutani Kiln at Kinzan and also indicates that the artist's name is Yoshida with a date of Showa 60 (1985).�

This could be very important if it means what it appears to mean, because in 1951 Yoshida Minori became the 3rd and current master artist of the Kinzan workshop. And in 1992 he was given the title of Living National Treasure (so I have learned in the past two days).

According to http://www.gotheborg.com/marks/kutani.shtml
�Even the most common of dinner plated, cups, and saucers today are marked. Yet some Japanese National Treasures are unmarked.�

So, I�m hoping it�s true. (But of course I doubt it. How could I be so lucky?) If anyone can read this and confirm (or negate) what she told me, I would really appreciate it. If this scan isn�t big enough or clear enough, I can send it full size to anyone by email.

Thanks again,
Paul

Oct 3 update: I'm learning so much! I have now learned that it is common for these papers to say that a piece was "made" by the master artist, when in fact it could have been made by anyone in his workshop.

Asianart.com | Associations | Articles | Exhibitions | Galleries |