Vintage Thursday Thingie: Blue and White Porcelain

Today I'm sharing two Blue and White Arita ware Japanese tea cups. This one has various designs encircling the outsite set off within lozenges. The first one here is little miniature landscape...see the tree and the sun? it makes me think of a desert island. The second is of a large "tulip" tree. This is a very small cup, only about 2" tall and 2" around.

Inside, on the bottom of the cup, to be see only after finishing your tea, is this wonderfully strange landscape of pointy mountains, clouds and moon and a very interesting bird. The rim of the cup is a bit fluted...not so very common in Arita ware.

Here are the marks but I haven't been able to get an identification.... here's a good on-line source for marks-including modern Made in Japan marks that while it didn't help me, may help some of you. Without being able to completely identify the mark (I have found two of the characters on other pieces) I'll have to take a guess at the age...late 19th century seems pretty safe to say.

Did you notice the fret design around the bottom of the cup and the small design around the rim? Horror vacuii Japanese style! :)

This second Arita ware tea cup is a bit larger...about 3" in diameter and height. It has an all around floral decoration

in a more muted and delicate blue. It has no marks and no design inside the cup...its much simplier than the first but the design is lovely. This cup is probably quite a bit older than the first...it may even be pre-Meiji (1867).

Arita ware is the blue and white parent of colorful Imari ware (you can see my lidded bowl here). Blue and white underglaze decorated porcelain began to be produced at Arita in the 17th century and is still produced today. Here'a a video showing just how underglaze blue decoration is painted-then and now! That's a calligraphy brush in his hand!

Hope you enjoyed seeing my little art treasures!

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