Late Meiji Thousand Faces Satsuma Vase Signed Hotoda 保土田

   Meiji period Thousand Faces Satsuma vase,


















































The vase is signed Hotoda , aka Hodota &/or Hododa, etc thanks to the asshats at Gotheborg for perpetuating incorrect information , 保土田.  The correct spelling is HOTODA.  My estimate is that it's dated somewhere around the end of the Meiji period circa 1900 to perhaps early Taisho period 1916.

Hotoda was one of the last great master's of Satsuma during the Meiji period

.    The Thousand Faces design features Kannon, the Japanese Buddhist Bodhisattva of Compassion, aka Kwan Yin / Guanyin, a single male figure which I haven't identified as of this writing, and multiple rakan which are often erroneously referred to as arhat or lohan, and are commonly also referred to collectively as "immortals,  each of them of the same face, and a white dragon intertwines through them.  Rakan, Arhat & Lohan all mean the same thing, but only RAKAN is used in Japanese.  The other terms are Indian and Chinese.

  There are several variations of the Thousand Faces Satsuma design, as well as the Thousand Faces Kutani.  

the wooden stand ise Chinese late Qing Guanxu period to early Republic period.

For Sale:  $800 usd /obo + shipping & insurance

Chinese Fuzhou Cork Art - 汉语 福州软木画

Chinese Fuzhou cork art originated in the early years of the Republic of China period in Xiyuan village, Fuzhou, capital city of Fujian province.

Chinese cork art was invented by Wu Qiqi, a wood carving artist of Xiyuan village, Fuzhou. In 1914, through the skilled use of various carving techniques, Wu Qiqi used a sharp knife as a pen, engraved and carved flowers, trees, pavilions, trestle bridges and boats, and then made birds and animals such as cranes and peacocks with the rice paper plant. He then stuck all the elements together with white glue, forming a scene and inventing a new and unique style of art which continues to this very day.

I love these cute little things.  Here's some pictures of my little collection of Chinese cork art.

Cao Rui Ying Yixing Zisha Teapot - 曹瑞英制 宜兴紫砂壶

   During one of my recent treasure hunts looking for Asian art, I found another Yixing Zisha clay teapot, made by Cao Ruiying, marked with a seal on the bottom that reads 曹瑞英制, Cáo ruì yīngzhì, made by Cao Ruiying.  There's another mark under the lid with a simple mark for Ruiying, 瑞英..  I'm not sure if Ruiying is one word, or supposed to be two, like Rui Ying.

It's a fairly simple yixing pot, but I like it very much.   To date I still haven't been able to find out anything online about the artist,  but it's not uncommon for that to happen, especially when dealing with unknown or not famous artists.  I'm not sure of the age of this pot, but it does not appear that old to me, so my best guess is mid to late 20th century as a possible range which is fine with me since Yixing Zisha teapots are great little teapots for brewing teas, and now I have another Yixing maker's mark to add to my list of Yixing Artist's Seal Marks.

I have another small Yixing Zisha teapot I want to post and share here, however, have not had the calligraphy on it nor the mark translated, so have been holding off until the artist is identified, so when that's done I will share that one here as well, and hope to acquire more Yixing teapots for my collection.