Asianart.com | Associations | Articles | Exhibitions | Galleries

My stab at identifying the mark on the base of this set came up with 大日本平井製 (Dai Nihon Hirai Seisu). Since Hirai is indicated to be a place or a surname, the mark should translate as "Made by (or at) Hirai in Imperial Japan". Since the "Imperial Japan" part usually denotes Meiji Period (1868-1912), then the lack of a "JAPAN" marking in English would mean a date of 1868-1898 (or before the "JAPAN" mark became effective under U.S. law, by conventional wisdom).

But there may be a problem applying conventional wisdom, because the two orange panels among the chrysanthemum petal shapes have an added luster or lustre that effectively can't be seen in my flat photos. Luster wares from Japan tend to be dated to the early 20th century in most cases I've seen, which aren't all that many. I'm also aware that English lustre wares can date much earlier, more like mid-19th century, so the Japanese at least had a source of the technology to copy.

Anyhow, I'd appreciate comments toward figuring a reasonable date for this C&S set and reconciling the possible conflict vis-à-vis the presence of a luster glaze. Oh, and did I mention verification of the name "Hirai", which ID is based mainly on information from the Japanese Wikipedia.

Dimensions of this set are: Saucer 5.5 inches diameter and cup 4.25 inches across handle X 2-1/16 inches high.

Best regards and many thanks,

Bill H.

Hallo Bill,

I went to all my resources about Japanese porcelain, but did not found the name Hirai as a potter or a painter (of pottery), so looks like a rare mark.
I did found a painter Hirai Baisen (1889-1969), but he painted on silk and scrolls.
About "Dai Nippon": although pieces with handwritten "Dai Nippon" marks usually are dated Meiji, it was sometimes also used in the Taisho period, so a dating between 1900-1920 is a possibility.
Regards,
Martin.

Hi Bill H.

It's indeed generally accepted that items marked with DAI Nippon were made during the Meiji period.
First I thought Noritaki started to make this ware during the early 1920's but on internet I found this:
https://www.mercurynews.com/2015/11/19/whats-it-worth-lustreware-porcelain-from-japan/

From what I understand (my English isn't that good) It became already populair before and it could be possible that Japanese lusterware was made earlier. On the other hand I had some trouble with the decoration of your cup and sauser; to me the style looked "to modern" to be of the Meiji period.

Using your translation I found a Japanese site:
http://kutani-satsuma.blogspot.com/2014/11/
which showes a cup and sauser with the same marking and the same kind of flower on the inside. It's dated as Taisho and that fits (to me) better with the style of decoration of your C&S.
I think this is an exception of the "Dai Nippon rule".


Regards,

Arjan

Martin and Arjan, I'm much obliged for the input from both of you. It would appear that my C&S might not have been made before about 1920. The Taisho-dated set with identical floral spray inside the cup suggests that another maker might have been attempting to compete with Fukagawa's high quality products of that time and didn't quite succeed. I also found this auction for a mid-century Japanese teaset with a "Hirai" mark. It doesn't appear to be the exact same signature, but considering how succeeding generations at a family kiln tend to adopt variations on the founder's name, I thought it was worth mentioning.

Thanks again,

Bill H.



URL Title :Hirai Japan Porcelain

I'd glanced at a couple of the marks at the link I provided and made my conclusion about that tea set possibly not having the same "Hirai" signature. However, on taking a longer look today, I discovered how the one mark I skipped is exactly the same "Hirai". So Late Taisho-Showa period looks to be a more solid pick to me at this point.

Thanks again,

Bill H

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