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Is this Chinese or Japanese, can anyone identify these marks?

by Gillian
(Durham)

Hello,
After searching for a long time on the internet to no avail I came across this blog and was hoping someone could help me identify the characters or recognise this tea set.
Any help would be much appreciated,
Many Thanks,
Gillian

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May 05, 2011
 Thank You Again
by: Gillian

Many Thanks again Peter, there are no marks on the bottom and the red seals are different on certain pieces, I think you may be right about it being a bit of a mix of pieces. Even though the scenes are all of the same place on closer inspection some look like they may have painted by different artists.
I shall have a look at what you suggested, you have been a great help, without you I would have been completely lost!


You are welcome, Gillian! Hope you find all the information you need.
Peter
May 04, 2011
 marks
by: peter

Hi, is there no mark on the bottom?
Basically, the name could be a person's (artist) name OR a place name. Places and family names often are the same, in Japan.

Do all items seem to be painted in the same style? If yes, I would check if the seal (red mark) looks the same. That will be a hint if it was made by the same person. The name written above could also be a the name of the location depicted.
If the characters above the seal, and the pictures, are different on different items, then this could mean that winter landscapes of different places are depicted by the same artist. It is also possible that the items did not belong together, originally. You will find that there are differences in decoration style, in this case.

What I would do is search for images of similar items on Google, then visit the concerned websites and see if they mention the kiln or maker. I have seen this decoration before and believe that it is not especially rare. You should be able to find it. Try Google of different countries too...
May 04, 2011
 Thank You
by: Gillian

Hello Peter,
Thank you for taking a look, at least we can narrow it down to them being Japanese.
I have looked again under winter scenes, etc, and I have seen similar items, I think it is an eggshell porcelain as it is so thin and see-through. I didn't post pictures of the teapot which has two flowers as the handle on the lid, along with a coffee pot and a two-handled pot.
On looking closer at the rest of the set the characters seem to be different on the plates than the ones on the pots, would this mean a different artist painted them?
I am a big pottery fan but I am totally clueless when it comes to oriental items.
Thanks again,
Gillian
May 03, 2011
 bowl
by: peter

Hello,
This is a Japanese style decoration and mark.
The mark is a family or a place name, but I am not sure what the first character is.
You should be able to find similar porcelain with this winter decoration by doing image searches on the net.

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