Unidentified Mark

[Stan]

Hi Peter, could this mark be a botched fuku mark? the person I bought this from said it was Chinese but I think maybe Japanese.

[Stan]

Here is the pot showing decoration, Fukagawa did something similar to this, I do not think it is Fukagawa.

[peterp]

Hi Stan,
I'm not sure if it was meant to be fuku. It is not botched but intended to be an artistic seal mark. And yes, definitely Japanese, both mark and decoration. That are likely cherry blossoms rather than plum blossoms. In Japan prunus blossoms are presumably pink.


PS: As we are at it, I have a question.  Do you have any pink cherry blossoms or white plum blossoms in your place?
From Europe and Japan I have always known cherry blossoms to be white, and prunus (plums) are usually pink, but after moving to Taiwan I discovered that both colors exist for both blossoms here, but people are more frequently expecting white blossoms to be plums and cherries pink.

[Stan]

Hi Peter, looking at everything with prunes or cherry blossoms did not give me the results to say for sure, most of my porcelain with the prunus decoration that is Chinese is blue and white,  and the multi color shows the red dots on the trees as cherries without blossoms, however I do have a Kangxi lid that has been converted into an ink well and its blossoms are white and yellow, I presumed that this is a prunus decoration, I hope this dose not confuse the issue even more.
I will post a picture of the ink well/ Kangxi lid.

[Stan]

Here is another Chinese vase from the Late Qing dynasty that has cherry blossoms.

[peterp]

Maybe it is not cherries...I do not think I have seen cherries depicted at all on Chinese porcelain, not until now. Cherries have a special meaning for the Japanese only, but not for the Chinese. And, plums have a special meaning for the Chinese, but for the Japanese they are just another type of blossom of spring.
On Chinese porcelain you will find prunus mainly as the only blossom in a decoration, or as one of the three friends of winter.
On your vase it is more likely prunus as it comes together with the narcissus, which is also a plant that is blooming very early in spring, or right at the end of winter.