Money back guarantee, no questions asked.
Please scroll down the page to see the details and explanation
During the more than 50 years I lived in the Orient I owned an antique store and also had a large personal collection of antiques. I was a member of the Okinawa Antique Dealers and Collectors Association through which I acquired many of my pieces.
Of the many items I am selling now, those I acquired through the association will carry with them our original 60 day guarantee of authenticity. This item comes with that Certificate of Origin, pictured below.
Now, back in the United States, and my being 83 years old it is time for me to give up my personal collection, a piece at a time. I offer a 100% money back guarantee on this antique for any reason at all. Simply return it undamaged within 30 days and you will receive a full refund. Sometimes even experts disagree on the exact age of a piece. That is why I offer a refund simply because you request it. Many of my treasures I have personally owned for more than 50 years and many I acquired from families who had passed the items down through the generations. Because antiques sometimes require careful packing, the customer is responsible for safe return shipping of any item returned for a refund.
Okinawan, Ryukyuan, rare antique individual sake server 17th century
This sake server is 7 inches tall and would be used to pour the sake into the tiny cups used for drinking. Most glazed Okinawan sake servers were colorful. This one shows the strong influence of the Korean potters that were brought to Okinawa much earlier.
The unglazed edge of the base reveals the light brown base clay that identifies this type of ceramic.
The origin of Okinawa's pottery is said to be Korean roof tiles brought from continental Asia during the 14th to 16th centuries. At this time, Okinawa was the independent Ryukyu Kingdom and enjoyed prosperous trade with China and various countries in Southeast Asia. During the 17th century, the Ryukyu Kingdom fell under the control of the Tokugawa shogunate's (feudal military government) Satsuma domain, and the prosperous trade with foreign countries ended. As a result, Sho Nei, the King of Ryukyu at that time, summoned potters from Korea to open kilns and endorsed actively adopting Korea's pottery production technology. This is how the basis of Tsuboya ware, jouyachi, started being produced in Okinawa. In 1682, the Shuri, Chihana, and Wakuta kilns were combined into one place, what is today known as Tsuboya, and this is the origin of modern-day Tsuboya ware.
closeup details
Left to right, construction of top, view of bottom showing brown clay, and angle view of bottom showing the depth of the foot.
On the left are style samples of typical individual sake servers made on Okinawa. Notice the large foot design.
This shows the brown clay that is common on Okinawa. The piece offered in this sale has been glazed to cover the brown clay but the color of the glaze is not the bright white or greenish blue that set the Korean ceramics apart.
View of two sides of the vase, showing the Okinwan method of using glaze. You can see the brown color of the base clay at the bottom of the images where the glaze did not cover it. This simple, uncluttered style is one of the attributes that made the Korean pottery so prized by the Japanese.
This piece is a good example of a combination of the Okinwan shape and the Korean simple glaze finish.
You won't find many examples like this one. Most of the sake bottles produced with glaze bore colorful decoration.
You will receive this certificate of origin with your item.