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Subject:Ko Kutani / Revival Yoshidaya ?
Posted By: Julien DEOCAL Thu, Apr 12, 2018 IP: 89.95.41.82

Hi,

I would appreciate some views on a large Japanese ko-kutani plate. The colors are very beautiful depicting a magnolia on a yellow background. It s signed on the back with the fuku and the style is very similar as old Kutani. But I think the plate is from mid 19th Century and i would like to know if possibly have made by Yoshidaya / Matsuyama kilns or others. It has an old stamp partially ripped on the back but it s marked 1878 (Perhaps Paris Exhibition in 1878 ?).
(measures : 34 cm)

Thanks for all your answers.







Subject:Re: Ko Kutani / Revival Yoshidaya ?
Posted By: Julien D Fri, Apr 13, 2018

more photos







Subject:Re: Ko Kutani / Revival Yoshidaya ?
Posted By: Bill H Fri, Apr 13, 2018

Here a link to a period book which provides a sense for Japanese participation in the Paris exposition of 1878. Its a pdf, which can be searched to pick out mentions of "Japanese".

https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/25100773.pdf

It seems reasonable to assume that your charger was sold at the 1878 Paris show, though I would speculate the ormolu mounts were installed later by the French owner, as the French were known to favor adding such embellishments. This mount doesn't particularly appear to be Japanese either.

The 1882 James Lord Bowes book on "Japanese Marks & Seals in Literature and the Arts" shows a number of fuku marks, including one numbered 179 in the Kaga (Kutani) section, beneath which he comments "Painted in black, upon a panel of green, on old [i.e., pre-1868] ware. Fuku-Happiness. This character is also frequently used upon modern [i.e., post-1868] imitations of the old green and yellow ware."

Based on the comment by Lord Bowes, I'd think it probably would be a toss-up as to whether your plate is late Edo or Meiji. Also, some comments in the book at the link suggest to me that the author thought the Meiji exhibitors and artists were making a concerted effort, in effect, to show off their stuff using new approaches and materials of the time. Anyway, read it and see if you get the same impression.

Best regards,

Bill H.


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