Satsuma pottery, one of the most prized ceramics of Japan was originally made by Korean potters.
The original artisans who produced Satsuma pottery were not from the Satsuma Province. They weren’t even Japanese; they were Korean prisoners who were captured by the invading forces of Toyotomi Hideyosi, then the ruler of Japan, during his invasion of the Korean peninsula in the late 16th century.
The renown of the Satsuma pottery kilns spread far and wide. While the Japanese Satsuma vase is one of the most popular objects in the field, any work from this period tends to be quite valuable today. While some workshops, like the Taizan or the Kinkozan, continued to produce works into the late 19th century, such works are exceedingly rare and very precious, generally found in museums or in Japanese personal collections.
Typically, later period works from these workshops have workshop signatures or marks, but pieces made before the Meiji Restoration (1868) are usually left unsigned.
This beautiful Satsuma bowl is 3.5 inches high and 4.25 inches in diameter
Here is the signature on the bottom of the piece we are offering. We place the date somewhere during the Meji period of 1868 to 1912.
How to identify Satsuma
Satsuma ware is made from a yellowish clay base rather than white. The glaze on it has a fine crackle. You can see this in the enlarged pictures on the left.
We offer this at a very low price
Judging from the appearance of the rim at the top we are certain that this bowl, at one time had a cover of some kind that has been lost during the passage of the years. Although it is still a beautiful piece, that makes it incomplete. For that reason we are offering it at a very low price. The rich gold and red colors are also typical of Satsuma ware. The two gentlemen in the picture to the left are playing a board game called "paduk" in Korea and called "go" in Japan.
You will receive this Certificate of Origin with the Satsuma bowl