Japanese Large art deco bowl.

Stan · May 23, 2016, 08:24:22

Hi Peter, and Mat, here's one for you, I purchased this at an Antique shop a few months ago, I can not find anything on this, Im guessing it is from the 30's or later, this bowl is Huge it is 63.4 cm long and 55.8 wide, can you tell me what the writing is and if you have ever seen anything like it, thanks.

Stan · May 23, 2016, 08:25:35

Here is a close up of the writing on the bottom, thanks for any help.

Stan · May 23, 2016, 08:28:25

I forgot to mention that this is hand thrown and it is heavily potted, also there is a slight blueish tint to the white ground and there is crackle in the glaze.

Mat · May 24, 2016, 18:57:02

Hi Stan, nice bowl! I do not know the mark, but I will try to find out something...

carlyoung · May 24, 2016, 18:59:42

Hi Stan

The characters look Japanese , The clay looks to be Chinese , Made in China and decorated in Japan?

Does that help?

Regards

Stan · May 24, 2016, 22:13:01

Thanks Mat and Carlyoung, I am pretty sure that this is Japanese made, the form and free style for the age would dictate Japanese, Carlyoung, is it the reddish orange color on the foot rim near where the glaze meets the unglazed area, is that why you think Chinese, I have seen many of Japanese porcelain like this, it is the same for both Japanese and Chinese, I think it might be the iron content in the glaze or the porcelain that gives it that reddish orange color, the dealer I purchased this from deals in Japanese art and Ceramics and this came out of an Estate that he recently purchased, everything in the Estate was Japanese, he said that he did not have time to research the mark before I bought it but he did say that to turn a bowl of this size, he would have had to of been a top notch potter and to get that art deco look that the Japanese were making during the art deco period would have required great skill.

carlyoung · May 25, 2016, 03:04:16

Hi Stan

Yes you would be correct in me thinking the Iron oxide line indicated Chinese , Yes it is due to Iron content but I believe that Japanese clay never contained iron or at least that is what I was told . I cannot confirm this although I have never seen Japanese porcelain with an iron oxide or red rim.

Stan · May 25, 2016, 07:17:26

Hi Carlyoung, thanks for the correspondence, I know another dealer in Japanese porcelain, I purchased a small celadon bowl that I think was used for ceremonial tea, the inside is part glazed and part unglazed, where the glaze meets the unglazed there is a reddish orange line, and I have seen other porcelain items the same way, so I think the information you received was incorrect, could the iron be in the glaze and not the porcelain?

peterp · May 25, 2016, 08:49:00

The mark is ?? (Shimamine) a family name, and probably also a place name.
The bowl looks contemporary or vintage to me, but looks as if it was hand-made.

Stan · May 25, 2016, 10:26:02

Thanks Peter, I could not find the name in any of my books, the dealer said that the previous owners bought in in the 60's.

Mat · May 25, 2016, 15:26:42

Hi Stan, I am not sure if I found something. There is this potter, Kouto Shimazaki, whose signature looks somehow similar, but maybe Peter can see if it is in fact identical. I am not sure at all. Here is his site: www.sdceramic.com/about-sdcc/ . I do not think that he was active as early as the 1960s though.

carlyoung · May 25, 2016, 15:27:24

Hi Stan , I am not completely sure to be honest , The glaze on your piece is white and should not contain Iron? I always thought the red iron oxide line was due to the iron content in the actual porcelain .

I must do some research as I personally have never seen a Japanese piece with a red oxide line , which is why I thought it was a later piece maybe made in China and decorated in Japan .

There is a lot to learn in Asian ceramics , I sometimes wish I had not gone and got my self hooked on the subject. lol

peterp · May 25, 2016, 17:54:05

I could imagine that the second character is something else, especially the left part, but the abbreviated strokes let me think of nothing else. The first is Shima for sure. If the second was different, it should be a ? instead of ?.

Stan · May 25, 2016, 21:04:55

Thank you, everyone that has replied, I thought I would tell you that Japanese porcelain from the 1950's through the 80's some of it is worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, the dealer later that I purchased this from showed me an article of Japanese porcelains from these periods that sold for top dollar, so look carefully at what you have, he asked me about this bowl because he never researched it, I will let him know what you came up with, thanks again for all your correspondence you have all been very helpful.