SATSUMA MORIAGE

 I remain in Chinoiserie mode and have almost completed my Meiji period Satsuma Moriage collection.  I have a beautiful eggshell teacup and a creamer/sugar geisha girl set with the same backstamp signature.   I would like to have one more teacup, but I won't pay a premium, so I'll have to be patient.  On the way is a teapot featuring poets that have no backstamp.  That's not a good thing, because its origin and authenticity cannot be verified and it lessens the value.  I got it anyway because, despite an extensive search, it's the only teapot I found that coordinates with my set, I love it, and it should be here next week.

My search for more information about these pieces was lackluster.  They look as though they are from the Meiji period (1868-1912) when Japan began to immerge from its isolationism.  That said, I wasn't able to find specifics on the pieces, and they may have been produced in the mid-20th century. Satsuma is a region in the southeastern tip of Japan where Satsuma pottery was originally manufactured.  Satsuma pottery has a classic crackle glaze which these do not.  Later, Japanese porcelain artists used designs on fine porcelain that were influenced by Satsumian artists, but not necessarily from the region. Fine porcelain was manufactured in other cities or regions such as Kyoto, Imari, Yokohama, or Tokyo (Edo) and is most likely where my pieces were made.   Two design features suggest that these are original pieces:  1)  The washes splash outside of the outlines (a good thing), and 2) the crosshatching is classic Satsuma.  Moriage (pronounced more-ee-ah-ghee with a hard g) is a technique used to apply raised enamel designs to the piece, especially gold.  The pieces are multi-colored, but the predominant color is red sometimes referred to as "iron" red, often with dark or cobalt blues, and most pieces are loaded with gold accents.  The teapot, however, has some red, but most of the washes are pastel and dominate the piece.  As I mentioned earlier, the teapot features noblemen, scholars, or poets whereas the cup/saucer and Creamer/sugar feature geishas.  Here's the seller's ebay photo of the teapot.