Asianart.com | Associations | Articles | Exhibitions | Galleries

I am looking for information on this vase. It is about 16 inches tall. There is no base mark, but has a signature on the side that I believe it reads 東籬亭造 or "Toritei Zo."

The only information I could find about this maker was that he was a decorator at the Matsuro Studio near Kyoto from about 1880s to 1912.

Perhaps Bill can clear this up for me. Thank you.

Over the years I've encountered similar Japanese biscuit-painted Satsuma-type stoneware in the same palette with the occasional Kinkozan mark (see link). At the outset, these pieces struck me as such a departure from the opulence underpinning Kinkozan's fame that I thought they might be post-Meiji. Now having seen more and better painted items in this style and palette, including your vase, I think the departure may have come earlier, in order to board the gravy train with Art Nouveau. Kinkozan was known for employing other studio artists in Kyoto as required by demand (Taizan is a name that comes to mind). Perhaps Toritei was another.

Best regards,

Bill H.

URL Title :KinkozanTeaset

Thank you Bill. So would your dating be late Meiji period?

If I'm right about the Art Nouveau angle, it definitely would be late Meiji. Art Nouveau came along circa the last decade of the Victorian era and lasted into the new century. Queen Victoria died in 1900, but I believe her era lasted for a while longer too.

Bill H.

I see from another thread on this subject, dating to around 1885. That makes sense as the only information I could find on Toritei is that he worked near Kyoto in the late 19th Century.

http://www.asianart.com/phpforum/index.php?method=detailAll&Id=86710&PHPSESSID=90m8bssldk77b6bsnsa7opfv16

Hi Bill,

I was looking through Andach's "Treasury of Satsuma" and saw this pair of vases that look very similar. Kinkozan Awata School, late Edo, mid-19th Century dated.

Bokaba

These Kinkozan pieces are equal to the Toritei work. Here's what Kinkozan was doing in B&W soft paste toward what I think probably also was the end of the Edo Period. This baluster storage jar or "mizusashi" for holding water for tea is about 8.75" high with lid in place.

Best regards,

Bill H.

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