Asianart.com | Associations | Articles | Exhibitions | Galleries

Visitors' Forum

Asian Art Forums - Reply Message
Asian Art Forums

Message Listing by Date:
Message Index | Back | Post a New Message | Search | Private Mail | FAQ
Subject:Blue and white porcelain bowl
Posted By: Kay Sun, Nov 13, 2016 IP: 71.114.50.137
Would appreciate any assistance identifying the mark on the smaller bowl.

Thanks in advance!







Subject:Re: Blue and white porcelain bowl
Posted By: Bill H Mon, Nov 14, 2016
This appears to be the Japanese cursive "fuku" (福) mark, meaning "Happiness", "Luck" or "Good Fortune", shown here upside down. FYI, I'm unsure whether the Japanese do the same thing, but in China at least, this character is displayed upside down on posters hung during the Lunar New Year, because the word for "upside down" is a homophone for the one for "arrive", making the upside down "fu" a rebus for "good fortune has arrived".

Best regards,

Bill H.

Subject:Re: Blue and white porcelain bowl
Posted By: Kay Tue, Nov 15, 2016
Bill, thanks so much - very informative! Tried finding an image in Google but didn't have any luck...great forum!

Subject:Re: Blue and white porcelain bowl
Posted By: Bill H Fri, Nov 18, 2016
The best comparative images I've found are in the old book "Japanese Marks and Seals in Literature and the Arts" by James Lord Bowes, first published in 1882 by Henry Southeran & Co., Manchester, England. My modern reprint is a "Floating Worlds Edition", ISBN 1-891640-11-9. It's public domain, so you should be able to find a copy somewhere online if you need it in the future. Meanwhile here's a colorized scan of the Fuku marks on P. 59. Your dishes look like they may be more modern than those mentioned in the book.

Best regards,

Bill H.



Post a Reply
Name:
Email:
Group: South & SE Asia
Subject:
Message:
Link URL:
Enter here the complete URL of any site, page or image you would like to show other visitors.
URL Title:
Enter here the title of the link you've given above. This will appear to the visitor. Eg., if you are linking another picture, enter "Another picture". The link will not appear without a title.
Image URL:
Enter here the URL of an image if it is already uploaded on the web. The image will appear with your posting. Do not post pictures which are not yours without permission from the copyright holder. It is the responsibility of each poster to make sure they have permission to use any photos they post.
Image: You may upload up to three images. If you would like to upload more images to this message please do so by replying to this same message.

Please make sure the file type is JPEG or GIF and the filename does not contain spaces.




Use the Browse button to find an image (jpg or gif) on a local drive on your computer to upload for including with your message. Do not upload images with file names containing spaces. Please do not upload files larger than 500 KB in size. Do not post pictures which are not yours without permission from the copyright holder. It is the responsibility of each poster to make sure they have permission to use any photos they post. Check the "email notification" box below if you would like to be notified of any responses to your message.
Check here for email notification.
Security Code: Security Image: please enter the text appears in this image.

Please type in the code you see in the image directly above this input box.

Subject:Re: Blue and white porcelain bowl
Posted By: Kay Sun, Nov 20, 2016
Thank you Bill!

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