VTG Mini Japanese Satsuma Vase Cobalt Blue Geisha Moriage Signed Kusube

For sale are 2 Miniature Japanese Satsuma Vase in Cobalt Blue with Geisha / Moriage Decorations and are Signed. See photos for condition and description. A similar vase with the signatures was identified as Kusube Yaichi, but according to a web page with famous Satsuma potters, the signatures look to be the father Sennosuke (1859 -1941).

See photos for the signature, and you be the judge if the signatures are legit. Also it should be noted Sennosuke Kusube employed a lot of workers in his factory, and I'm not sure if they used his signature on their vases. If anyone reading this has additional information, let me know, and I will add your information to this listing. Condition is Used and Very Fine.

No damage or cracks, chips or signs of wear. Some crazing that can be seen in the lighter painted areas. Decoration shows Geisha women and children against a mountain backdrop. The reverse side shows bamboo leaves. There is fine gold moriage decoration on the women's dress.

Decorated with Kusube's usual style with vibrant colors and masterful attention to detail. Sennosuke Kusube started around 1880 in Kyoto his workshop for the production and decoration of Kyo Satsuma, pottery in Satsuma style. Much more is not known about him, except that he must have been one of the largest producers of Kyo satsuma, given the amount of work still on offer today. Because of the differences in quality, it is plausible that Kusube's workshop often employed less skilled decorators, who produced large numbers of export wares, much of medium quality and without too much imagination in decoration or decoration. Rakans, bijins and samurai are common and are often interchangeable for that of other producers. Probably they all used the designs from the Onchi Zuroku. After the collapse of the Tokugawa shogunate in 1868 the Meiji government tried to develop the industrial development of Japan as fast as possible.

Promotion of Japanese pottery and porcelain and other cultural expressions was part of this and that led to the creation of "Onchi Zuroku" ("Catalog of Design Patterns"), a design resource for artisans crafting Japanese-style items for overseas. Judging by the majority of Kusubes work, the Onchi Zuroki must have been an important source of inspiration for him.

Nevertheless, exceptional pieces by him are known, showing that he was a skillful decorator. The majority, however, will have been executed by less skilled workers.

Considering the year of birth of Yaichi (1897), it is clear that all of Kusube's work made in Meiji and early Taisho period can be attributed to Kusube Sennosuke. And given the style of work, it also seems certain that all the Kyoto-Satsuma work from the later Taisho and Showa I periods was produced by Sennosuke.

Possibly Yaichi helped his father (who was in his seventies at the beginning of Showa period) with the development of the more modern Kusube work from the Taisho and Showa period. This modern style, characterized by stylized, brightly colored figures using moriage on a mostly white glazed background, is clearly recognizable in comparison to the more common way of decoration in traditional colors, where the background was glazed dark brown or cobalt blue. Kusube Sennosuke died in 1941, it is not known when the Kusube workhsop was closed. Examples of the work of Sennosuke Kusube.

Kusube was a member of the Japan Art Academy and won a string of awards and merits during his lifetime, the most notable being the Order of Culture, one of Japan's most prestigious awards for excellence in art. Kusube also worked with other famous contemporary Japanese potters such as Yagi Isso and was a fierce rival of the famed potter Kiyomizu Rokubei. His early career was spent practicing the art of pottery with his father and producing typical Satsuma ware for export to US and European markets.

Kusube gained fame for the technique of elegantly layering different colored clays, while applying intricate overglaze enamels over the clay body. This technique eventually awarded him a Fellowship into the ultra-exclusive Japan Art Academy. Even his early work shows attention to fine detail and exceptional craftsmanship. This is your Opportunity to Own A Genuine Miniature Example of Kusube's Signed Work at an Affordable Price. This item is in the category "Antiques\Asian Antiques\Japan\Vases".

The seller is "pacer_place" and is located in this country: US. This item can be shipped to United States, New Zealand, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Wallis and Futuna, Malaysia, Taiwan, Poland, Suriname, Argentina, Ireland, Netherlands, Thailand, Aruba, Sweden, Iceland, Macedonia, Belgium, Israel, Liechtenstein, Antigua and Barbuda, Italy, Panama, Singapore, Switzerland, Chile, China, Portugal, Malta, Cayman Islands, Paraguay, Cyprus, Australia, Austria, Czech Republic, Norway, Kiribati, Grenada, Greece, Haiti, Greenland, Montenegro, Nepal, Bahamas, United Kingdom, Hungary, Western Samoa, France, Peru, Denmark, Guatemala, Solomon Islands, Vatican City State, Nauru, Anguilla, El Salvador, Dominican Republic, Guyana, Tonga, San Marino, Saint Kitts-Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, Colombia, Spain, Bermuda, Montserrat, South Korea, Vanuatu, Ecuador, Albania, Monaco, Moldova, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Bolivia, Gibraltar, Hong Kong, Saint Lucia, Canada, Turks and Caicos Islands, Andorra, Costa Rica, India, Mexico, Japan, Lithuania, Trinidad and Tobago, Nicaragua, Finland, Luxembourg, Brazil, Germany, Latvia, Jamaica, Honduras.

Primary Material: Porcelain & Pottery
Color: Multi Color with Cobalt Blue Background
Region of Origin: Japan
Age: Unknown