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I have this beautiful round bowl with slightly scalloped rim. It appears to be very well made (heavy). Unfortunately, it is unmarked so I don't have much to go on. The blue is a rich, dark cobalt and the "white" is actually a very LIGHT shade of what I would call gray. The material feels like stoneware and it has a soft 'sheen' to it.

The design has men playing musical instruments (I think?), and flowers.

Bowl measures 7.25" inches [18.41 cm] diameter x 3.25" [8.255] high.

Is this flow blue? Hand-painted? I don't see any tiny 'dots' when looking under a magnifying glass.

Thanks for any help!

This is a Japanese bowl, probably made circa the late 19th-early 20th century (Meiji-Taisho era). The Chinese-style pattern of "children catching butterflies", with "three friends of winter" medallion in the cavetto, was applied by stencil and/or transfer. I believe the Japanese call this technique "in-ban".

I checked recent auction results and didn't find anything close to this type and size of bowl selling for more than $50.00, although earlier hand-painted bowls from a famous kiln in the same pattern tend to do much better. See link below.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Fine-Japanese-Hirado-Blue-white-porcelain-bowl-boys-catching-butterflies-C1800-/291144080163?

Best regards,

Bill H.

Bill, I thanked you for your ID'ing my bowl, but I'm really wondering why you say it's Japanese when everything about it is Chinese. Can you explain further? I thank you again.

Glossary Search Gotheborg.com site for:

Three Friends of Winter (suihan sanyou):

"Pine, bamboo and prunus (plum) all symbolizes long life. Since they can all endure cold weather as in 'flourishing under adverse conditions' they are often shown together as the "Three Friends of Winter" or "The Three Friends".

Together they symbolize longevity, perseverance, and integrity being the virtues of the ideal scholar-gentleman, and also the three main religions of CHINA - Buddhism, Daoism and Confucianism."

URL Title :Chinese Porcelain Collectors Page

At the risk of oversimplifying, the Chinese didn't do things quite like this, at least when this bowl was made, though they seem to be faking something for almost every niche of the collectibles market nowadays. Japan's Dutch trading partners gave the Japanese the technology for transfer ware not long after the British invented it in the 18th century.

China with its large slice of continental territory and population, continued to hand-paint virtually all of its porcelains into the early 20th century. The insular Japanese had a smaller population base, so found transfer ware well suited for its porcelain industry and used it on a scale that turned it into one of their art forms during the 19th century.

So to answer the question, this particular transfer bowl is decorated in a standard Japanese pattern. Had the Chinese done it at the same time, chances are it would have been hand-painted and been slightly different stylistically.

The Chinese and Japanese share icononography and other cultural reference on a large scale. The "Three Friends of Winter" is one of the more commonly used icons in the graphic arts of both countries.

The Below link is to an early forum thread into another such bowl with a different medallion. Pay particular attention to the comments of Anthony J. Allen, who is the most popular contemporary author in the world of books on Chinese porcelain and other collectibles.

Best regards,

Bill H.

URL Title :JapaneseXferBowl

Wow, thanks Bill. You're amazing! This was my first time using this site. I'll have to keep it in mind for the future. Have a great week.

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