Q I picked this up at a local Goodwill store because of its detail. It is so intricate that I am almost positive that it is an export piece. The same picture is on both sides, and it stands 13-3/4 inches tall. Any information is welcome.
— B.C., via email
A Let’s talk Satsuma.
Most people are familiar with late Satsuma or nishikide. It is a distinctive Japanese pottery from the Meiji period (1868 to 1912). The ceramic example has a warm cream, ivory-to-beige background with a crackled glaze. It bears over-glazed designs in orange, green, blue, red, or gold decoration. One of the more distinctive features of this Satsuma is the crackled glaze and the overall painted decoration. That element is easily palpable and often done in a technique known as moriage.
Moriage, a Japanese word that translates as “heap up,” is a trailed-slip decoration originally used to indicate the gilt beading seen on Japanese pottery; however, the term has also become widely used in describing the matte, slip-layered, heavy relief designs seen in Japanese ceramics especially identified with the style known as Dragon Ware, where slip is layered in a heavy relief design of trailing dragons. However, there are exceptions to this generalized description of a creamy, crackle-glazed, polychrome enamel-painted pottery. Those of you familiar with my articles and appraisals know there are usually one or two or more “however” qualifications. One true and certain fact about antiques is there are always rules, and there are always exceptions to those rules.
The Key to Authenticating Is a Lack of English Marks
Now that I have deposited the above description of Satsuma in your brain’s Antique Information Bank, I am adding a codicil of sorts. The origins of Satsuma lie in the seventeenth century. Early Satsuma was sparingly decorated with large unpainted cartouches and comes in a variety of colors, including white and black, along with a number of glazes, including blue/gray and a mixture of yellow, black, and blue with over- and under-glaze decorations.
Genuine Satsuma is native to Japan and never anywhere else, including China. Genuine Satsuma never has English writing on it; no “Made in…,” no “Hand-Painted,” no “Genuine…,” and no “Satsuma” anything.
Photo by Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images
Genuine Satsuma is hand-painted with Japanese images. Chinese figures do not appear on genuine Satsuma, and it is marked in Japanese. Not all Satsuma marks are the same. I am familiar with at least ten, but I’m sure there are more. Satsuma usually has the artist’s signature along with the Satsuma mark. Whatever the Satsuma mark used, many Satsuma pieces include the Shimazu clan mark, a red, hand-painted circle with a cross inside (like the crosshairs in a gunsight).
In the clip above, a piece of Japanese Satsuma pottery, crafted by Kinkozan in 1853, was handed down through the generations of a family. The extraordinary piece is recognized for its crackled glaze, hand-painted gold dots, and pristine condition.
If you do have a piece that you suspect is genuine Satsuma, there are many online Satsuma resources that can help you identify the mark. One of the best is Gotheborg.com. There are also several good reference books, such as Imari, Satsuma, and Other Japanese Export Ceramics, by Nancy N. Schiffer.
Antique Trader reader image
English marking on Japanese pottery is a post-WWII characteristic. Pieces bearing the mark on your vase, “Royal Satsuma,” date to the late twentieth to early twenty-first century when “Royal Satsuma” was mass-produced. A pair of vases comparable to yours recently sold for around $75, and a twenty-three-inch Royal Satsuma floor vase sold in the same range. I would place a value of $30 to $40 on your vase.
Dr. Anthony J. Cavo is an honors graduate of the Asheford Institute of Antiques and Reisch College of Auctioneering. He has extensive experience buying and selling antiques and collectibles and is the author of Love Immortal: Antique Photographs and Stories of Dogs and Their People.
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