Kutani Meizan Koro Tomobako 九谷明山香炉 供箱

  For the longest time, I wished that the Japanese porcelain pieces in my collection had their original wood box, called Tomobako, or Kyō-bako in Japanese, and although there are many Japanese porcelain pieces on the market in their original box, I decided to look around and see if I could find any Tomobako for sale.

  I found this one on an online auction site, and although it was part of a lot of mixed boxes of different kinds, I was only interested in the Japanese Tomobako, so I contacted the seller and asked if he would sell it to me without the others in the lot.  Fortunately for me he said yes.

  It is seal marked Kutani Meizan, 九谷明山.  The small seal in the upper right reads Kutaniyaki, 九谷焼.  The calligraphy in the center reads Koro, 香炉, the Japanese word for incense burner.   The calligraphy above the seal reads 明山造, Meizan zo. (Made by Meizan).

Now all I need is to find a Kutani Meizan Koro to go in this box, as well as more Tomobako and Japanese porcelain with their original Tomobako. :)

Thank you to my friend and neighbor Miho Takahashi for the calligraphy translation.

Large Japanese Porcelain Kutani Moriage Hotei Statue 九谷布袋

It seems I am once again blessed with good fortune.

       I never know what I'll find when I'm out hunting for Asian art and antiques. Call me obsessed, but I have this compulsion to do so as often as possible whenever I'm financially able to, even if it means scouring the shelves of a thrift store hoping to bring home something unique for super dirt cheap.

  So today was the first day of school and with my daughter gone for the day, I decided to hit up a couple of shops I frequently visit, and, well, I wasn't counting on making any large dollar amount purchases and I hope I'm not going to regret doing so later when I'm sending out checks for my monthly household bills, etc since it appears I have exhausted my available spending funds for the next two weeks.

One of the shops I stopped at is an antiques store which I visit very often, at least once a month.  Today, as I entered the store, the owner, a 90+ year old woman, was just about to step outside.  We began talking, as we customarily do, and she started talking about this large stained glass window that was next to her leaning against the wall by the front door, and that she wants to move it to the other side of the store on the window sill.    I offered to move it for her, and as a result, it appears maybe I got a bargain price on this large Japanese Kutani Hotei statue.

Hotei ( 布袋 ) is one of the Japanese Shichifukujin 七福神 , The Seven Gods of Fortune, or in Western terms, Seven Lucky Gods.  Hotei is the fat and happy god of contentment, happiness, abundance and good health, also known as Budai or Pu-Tai in Chinese mythology and/or folklore, etc.  In Western culture, he is referred to as the Laughing Buddha even though he is not Buddha, albeit some Buddhist sects consider him to be an incarnation of Maitreya or Miroku Nyorai.

The base of the statue has an incised Kutani mark, 九谷, and is intricately decorated in a Satsuma moriage style.  He is approximately 14" tall and weighs at least 8 to 10 pounds I think.

After I finished moving the large stained glass window, there on the shelf in front of me was a large Satsuma temple vase, which I eagerly and excitedly oohed and aahed over until I saw the "Made in Japan" mark on the bottom.  Sure I liked the vase, but I felt perhaps it was not that old, so I decided perhaps I should not fork over $50 for it, and that's when I turned around and saw what looked like a Satsuma Hotei, yet when I picked it up for a closer look, realized that it was not Satsuma at all, but Satsuma style, because the clay was not an earthenware, nor was there the tell tale Satsuma crackled glaze.  At the time I couldn't even see the marking, because I didn't have my magnifying glass and my eyes are poor these days.   The owner of the shop also has bad eyes, so when she asked me if I could read or see the mark, my answer was "I think I see Made in.. it probably says Made in Japan", and it wasn't until I got home that I saw that it's actually a Kutani mark, 九谷.

  I put the Hotei statue down and browsed around her shop, picking up a 6 1/2" Satsuma vase with a Samurai decorated in moriage, and a small Chinese saucer with the Shou symbol for longevity, 壽.   After I placed them onto the counter, I went back to examine Hotei, hoping it was within my budget and I asked the owner, "how much is he?"   Her answer was "since you helped me, you tell me what it's worth to you".   I was hesitant, because I didn't want to sound cheap, although I'm certain she knows all too well that I'm always looking for bargains as I've haggled with her 90% of the time I have ever made a purchase from her, but also, at the same time, I knew I only had $40 in my pocket, so, without thinking of the other two items I also wanted, I said "I only have $40 in my pocket" to which she said "sold..  I'll give it to you for that price" which pleased me very much even though I knew I would be broke until I get paid again.

When I got to the counter to pay, that's when I realized I didn't have enough to pay for the other two items, however, she trusted that I would come back and pay, so allowed me to take them home on the promise that I would return, which of course I will, because I have known this woman for over a year now and have been in her store at least several dozen times, as well as see her around town in other shops, etc.. even at a local auctioneer's hall, so, and besides, she also knows my name and where I live, so yes, of course she trusts me.

I immediately began Googling around trying to determine how old this Kutani Hotei is, as well as its potential value, and I'm coming up with various possibilities for its age, from late Meiji to early Taisho, even early Showa, so my research is incomplete and its age remains uncertain at this time.

  As for value, well, that's a real crap shoot, because all I have to go by are eBay listings, and, well, sorry to say, but the majority of sellers on eBay don't know their freaking ass from their elbow, never mind the age and values of Japanese porcelain and antiques, etc.  They pretty much pull numbers out of thin air, like one particular delusional fool from Seattle who thinks her Kutani Hotei is worth $950 + shipping.   I say good luck with that as I laugh at how absurd her asking price is.  I have seen others ranging from $50 up to $300+, all with differences, none of them the size of this one, except the $950 one and another I found for $875, so who knows... Maybe it is worth that much, yet I seriously doubt that.   The majority of the Japanese Kutani Hotei figures and statues I saw selling online were all in the 6" to 8" range with the exception of 2, and none quite the same, although a little similar.  I am happy however that mine seems to be in far superior condition and detail than the ones I saw online.

Another major difference I noticed, is that most of those that are marked have the Kutani mark 九谷 painted in red while the marking on mine is incised into the clay.

Kutani Sengaku 九谷泉岳 Plate

I found beautiful gold and brown Sengaku Kutani plate on a recent treasure hunt looking for Asian art and antiques.  When I initially saw it laying on the floor of the shop, I was about to pass by it, because, at first glance it didn't look like Japanese porcelain to me, at least not anything currently in my collection or anything I'm familiar with or have seen, nevermind even look antique, but modern, mid 20th century, as it is, but as my habit is, I picked it up to see what the mark said on the bottom, and that's when I saw the mark and said to my self  "ooh.. it's Kutani".   The plate is a golden yellow, with brown pine trees, and some gold leaf details and is marked 九谷泉岳,  Kutani Sengaku.

When I got home I had to refer to kanji charts and after flipping through page after page, looking through at least 1000+ different kanji, I was able to translate the name Sengaku 泉岳, although I immediately recognized the characters for Kutani 九谷, and knew the character for ku & ga 岳, I had to look up the remaining character 泉, which took some time, & I am pleased with my efforts to translate the signature as that of Sengaku.  The mark reads 九谷泉岳, Kutani Sengaku..

As of this posting, I have yet to find out any information on Sengaku, the artist who made this, other than he was born in 1933 and specializes in polychromes.  Assuming it's the same Sengaku who makes Kutani porcelain under the name Nakamura Sengaku.  Unfortunately the search results for Kutani Sengaku are flooded with spammy results from a particular shady scammer on eBay that is fraudulently claiming a particular Sengaku piece as a Meiji period antique, which is a load of fabricated BS because Sengaku wasn't even alive then, and didn't start making ceramics until probably the 1950s.


For Sale.  $500 usd /obo + shipping & insurance

Japanese Kutani Sake Bottle - 九谷 酒瓶

 I just got this Japanese sake bottle today.  It is Kutani and has calligraphy on it, presumably also signed by the artist, however, I have not been able to translate it, nor can I make out the hanko seal, so have no idea who the artist is or if the calligraphy contains a date or not.   My best guess is that this Kutani sake bottle is mid to 3rd quarter 20th century made... 1950s to 1970s, but it could be newer than that, unlikely older.

I know the bottom character is san/yama 山, but I'm not sure what the first kanji is, however, I was informed by a third party that the seal looks like it reads 高山, Takayama.   I haven't been able to narrow this down to any specific artist, however, there is a city in Japan named Takayama which has several sake breweries, so perhaps this sake bottle was made by/for them, or as a product to be sold in tourist shops in Takayama, Japan.   I'm having difficulty figuring this one out, so if you know, I'd greatly appreciate your help.

Meiji Period Japanese Kutani Porcelain Shoza Style Tea Set Marked Kutani Zo 九谷ぞ

Meiji period, circa 1880 - 1890 Japanese Kutani, Shoza style porcelain tea set, maker marked Kutani Zo 九谷ぞ, ( Made in Kutani )

 

1950s Japanese Porcelain Kutani Sake Bottle 九谷焼徳利

I went out for a walk yesterday and decided to drop in a shop and am very happy that I found this 1950s Shōwa period Japanese Porcelain Kutani Tokkuri 九谷焼徳利  ( Saké Bottle ).  It is maker marked with the mid 20th century Kutani rakkan seal and a silver foil sticker "Trade Mark Genuine Kutani Made in Japan"

pp2 est?