Large Japanese Bowl - Mark and Age?

[Kaaren B.]

I picked up two items this weekend, both damaged. I do not usually buy damaged, but these were so lovely and so cheap that I took them home, anyway.

This is the first. A very large bowl with very fine, detailed decoration on the outer rim.

The under-rim is decorated with three (what looks like) stylized water buffalos? Each is slightly different. Why not four to make it even?

When I run my finger over the border, it is raised, you can feel it, it is not flat, so I think all hand-painted?

It has cracks on the bottom as you can see, although I cannot feel them with my finger. And there is one chip under the top rim that doesn't really show when the bowl is displayed.

I cannot translate the mark, although I see the "zan" character, and perhaps the Nihon one?

This looks genuinely old to me - I think you can see rust holes on the bottom?

I am guessing early 20th century on this?

Help with mark, age, and origin much appreciated! K.

[Stan]

Hi Kaaren, you really do get some nice Japanese items, the marks read Hi-cho-zan Shin-po Tsukuru, Made by Hichozan shinpo. dates from 1850 - 1880 these were maid in Hizen Arita very nice even with the cracks they are nice it dose not take away from the artistry of the potter, I have a lot of items from the same artist, I think these would have a high collectors value, I have been seeing more than usual on the market than normal, that dose not mean they are being faked, I think a collector might have passed away and his collection is being sold off, I have bought 4 vases in the past year that are old and authentic, it happens sometimes when a large collection hits the market it can bring down values which is good for collectors like us, it makes it more affordable, the vases I purchased I have only seen in Museums or in collectors hands never on the marked, nice find.

[Kaaren B.]

Thank you so much! This means that this bowl, the teapot you also just commented on, and the famille rose celadon plate I posted earlier in the year, are the oldest things I have collected.

The oldest thing in European porcelain I have is two items of flow blue, one by Christiansen and one by Davenport that dates to 1840.

So it is really nice to add these genuinely old Asian items to that category.

Thank you! Kaaren

[Stan]

Hi Kaaren, just out of curiosity how many red bats are there on the outside of the plate, I believe this is a plate, not a bowl, they do resemble a bowl but IM sure it is a plate, I would need to see the side view to be sure.

[Kaaren B.]

There are three bats (I thought they were water buffalo at first). I wondered why they only had three when for symmetry one would think there would be four.

Two additional views attached, one showing all three bats, the other showing the curveature or the piece. K.

[Stan]

Peter had mentioned to me one time that 4 means death in Chinese and Japanese and so things would be in 2 - 3s or sets of 5s I think this is a plate, I would like to have Peter answer this one because it looks like a bowl but for Chinese and Japanese shallow bowls are really considered plates.

[Kaaren B.]

Thanks, Stan. I will look forward to Peter's response.

I looked up the bats and found that in Japanese art they are considered emblems of prosperity and happiness, and that red is also a lucky color.

I did not know this until I got this item. and I did not know that four is a symbol of death.

Here in the West, four is a symbol of completion, and bats have an evil connection.

But in researching the artist, I found a very similar plate being offered, signed  as mine is, but with four bats.

www.1stdibs.com/furniture/asian-art-furniture/ceramics/19th-century-1830-hichozan-shinpo-japanese-porcelain-plates-six-character-edo

What do you think?! Kaaren

[Stan]

Hi Kaaren, I often see sets of 4 bats on the later Chinese and Japanese porcelain, I think that is strictly for export though, and they know we would prefer 4 " Guessing ".

[Kaaren B.]

I thought so, too - later stuff for export. K.

[peterp]

Yes, basically it is a western shape. Classic western plates had a deep interior (bowl-like) shape  and a wide rim, while Japan and China had their main dish (rice, noodles) in bowls, and  in Japan the vegetables and side dishes would be served in smaller shallow bowls and similar. You see that also with Chinese wares...the plates started changing when export wares were increasingly made. Original plates would have had a wide flat interior with a relatively narrow upturned rim.

4 (shi) you will not find seat rows numbered this way in airplanes, at least in the Far East, for the same reason as there are no 13 - superstition. Room numbers etc. with this are also often avoided. This is sometimes not strictly observed as it may cause inconvenience. If you buy whole ceramic sets made in Japan, you will often see that they consist of five rather then four  items.

I was wondering a bit about the bats, because they seem to have no special auspicious meaning in Japanese. In Chinese that meaning comes from their reading; they are are called Bianfu whereas "Fu" has the same reading as the characters for "good fortune, happiness, wealth". So that is why they are considered auspicious. Chinese culture has lots of name associations like this.

[Stan]

Thanks Peter, that is good information on the bowl/plate, I was surprised to see the bats also on the outside of the plate that is rare on Japanese, Im sure they were copying Chinese bat decoration, thanks again.

[Kaaren B.]

Thank you both for all this information. Kaaren