Is this tea set kutani?

There is no respect in open dishonesty, nor blatantly being disingenuous and biased in favor for a friend. It might be some form of loyalty but I certainly come away from this with less respect for you, not for your knowledge which is clearly exceptional but how petty you can be.

 

Francisco, are you going to try to pick a fight with everyone on this forum?
Posting lies about me won't work, because there is no need for me to defend myself. Everyone can see what you've been doing all this time.
Everyone can also see what I have posted. They can draw their own conclusions.

My conclusion is that you are in fighting mode no matter what, and I am not inclined to let you play games with me.
It has been ineresting to see how you operate though, thank you for that insight into your psyche. I will now leave you to find another victim.

 

Bakers was at me ever since I joined, I have mixed emotions. I am very happy to see her defeated and no longer have to be harrassed by her. It is sad is has cost me some respect that i had for you, but if i recall correctly when i first joined, that you were also just a little bit of a trouble maker, i never found that with you and it was in fact your brilliant mind that warmed me to you, so it is sad for me that we had this scrap, but then again I am now so happy Bakers had fled the battlefield never to return and our mini quarrell was no doubt inevitable so that is what it was. First impressions are so accurate.

 

Oh dear, just to get back to the discussion, IMO there is no reason to assume that this set is not Kutani or Kutani style. I would also not call it junk or something similar. As already mentioned, Kutani is a term for ceramics and porcelain from a certain region. There has always been a wide range of quality and styles, even material, in the wares produced there. You cannot compare a masterpiece with an item made for everyday use, but that does not mean that one is more Kutani than the other. If I find the time I will post examples of Kutani, all totally different from each other but still all Kutani. As to the mark, this style of writing is quite common on mid 20th pieces.

 

Matt

I appreciate the variety of styles that Kutani has, it is different in that it's the Kilns and Kutani's formation was a business rather than a private kiln belonging to a fuedal lord such as Nabeshima or Satsuma. It is I think this distinction that makes Kutani so multi purpose and varied. However Kutani has a very strict rigorous tradition that is still followed today, and these low quality arbitrary and superficial generic kutani marks have no provenance, cannot be ascribed or attributed to any particular artist or company and most importantly location. They are not Kutani and there are dozens and of Japanese cultural societies that will never recognise them as Kutani.

Lets take Satsuma, it is more vigorously defended. You might call a vase from China that is in the Satsuma style 'satsuma' but it is not Satsuma. I would rather not get into why but you know it is not.

Kutani unlike Satuma began as a business, and is freely copied, however Modern Kutani is still produced in the same prefecture or district and has strict traditions rules and socities that overlook these traditions.

This is a Kutani kiln and you can see why it is Kutani.You can trace the provenance. You can see how strictly it adheres to tradions and where it is located.
https://kutanikosen.com/en/history.html


For an example lets take one of the most famous modern Kutani artists Buzan Fukushima. They are so dedicated to the craft that they actuallly live in the prefecture.

Buzan Fukushima



Every artist or Kiln will always be in the prefecture and will be a member of a society, and a full member of Japan Craft Association and will recieve recognition.

Ishikawa Prefectural Intangible Cultural Property Kutani Ware Technique Preservation Society
Japan Traditional Art Crafts Exhibition
Japan Kogei Association
Ishikawa Award at the Kutani Ware Industrial Design Competition

In 1951 Minori Yoshida was the third generation to take over Kinzan Kiln. The Kinzan Kiln in Kutani Village was opend by Shusaku Yoshida in 1906. The kiln developed the “Kinsai” techniques. Kinsai is a type of gold leaf painting technique that continues to undergo improvements today.

In 2001, the Kinzan Kiln was designated a Living National Treasure of pottery painting. Minori Yoshida, master of the Kinzan Kiln, received the Medal of Honor from the government of Japan in 2001. He has also received many awards from all over the Japan. His works were presented to the Japanese Royal Family.

Minori Yoshida




You can see how strict the Kutani Ware Traditional Craftsmen Association and Ishikawa Traditional Art Crafts societies are in Ishikawa, the kilns are visited by the Japanese Emperor and the Prime minister of Japan will be there for award ceremonies.

Some generic, unknown mass produced low quality ware that has no membership or recognition, is not hand painted or artisitc, and is not in the prefecture but mass producing for export to foreigners might have a kutani style to it, but it is not Kutani. If it was we would already be discussing the Kiln and perhaps even the artist. Royal Satumsa is about the same, but with the exception at least we know it is royal satuma from the factory mark. If it was a genericly marked royal satumsa we should not assume it is real satumsa.


I am going to use this as an example....

https://www.satsuma-pottery.com/royal-satsuma
When you begin to collect or become interested in Satsuma Pottery, you may come across several terms that you are unfamiliar with. One such term which can also be misleading is "Royal Satsuma".

The term "Royal Satsuma" refers to the type of Satsuma Pottery that was mass produced to be sold abroad. It is also possible that the piece of pottery was even made in somewhere like China too - such was the demand for Satsuma style pieces after they were made known to the world.

If you have a piece of pottery that is marked "Royal Satsuma" on the bottom, then it is certainly not an authentic piece from Japan. It could have been made in Japan, but it will not be a proper antique.

 

Could not ever receive a better answer . Thanks Mat.