Satsuma Double Gourd Vase

Hello Board Friends - I've researched what I could on Gotheborg and am hoping someone can confirm what I think I found. I believe this is a satsuma double gourd vase. The pattern repeats on the front and back. One side features the eight immortals. The opposite side features what I think are elements of a mille fleur design and two characters which I can't decipher. I'm assuming it's from the Guangxu period (1871-1908) due to the black background on the mille fleur element. I did not find any reference regarding the mark. My apologies if I've pictured the mark upside down. It's a big puppy at 15" tall. Besides confirming my suspicions any additional information regarding the marks would be much appreciated. Thank you so much!
Don

 

nice....that's got a lot goin on !!!

 

Thank you, komokwa. Here it is in its new home. It came with the moriage vase next to it which I think is about the same age. The wood stand was also included. I may switch the placement so the satsuma vase is on the wood stand rather than the moriage.

 

Whoa Don......yer not going for big stuff lately.....are ya >>

Both nice ....& yes , change the stand...the big one looks like a floor model !!!

 

I actually swore off large items. When the last round of postage raises went through it became too costly to ship the large items I was selling on ebay. I am slowly running those items through our local auction house to clear them out. I make exceptions, or course, for items I want to keep. And I still can't resist a bargain. I waited several hours but scored the pair (plus two wood stands) for a total of $30. And you were right - I switched them and they look a lot better.
Don

 

The original Satsuma is a Japanese style, made with a cream colored earthenware (although later the decorative style was applied to porcelain bodies). Your vase appears to be a Chinese copy. The maker's mark looks like a Chinese stamp, and the "Guangxu period" (however you arrived at that attribution) is Chinese.

 

Thank you, 2manybooks. It may very well be a Chinese copy. I was afraid I was confused. I based the period on the black background for the flowers but that wouldn't apply, of course, to a Chinese copy.
Don

 

The mark is upside down, but I'm not so sure it is a Chinese copy, that calligraphy on the side seems way too freely written to be Chinese, I'm going to say this is a piece of Kutani, not sure of the age, not new imho ...and very nice.

 

Thank you, blooey. Clearly I'm out of my field! I've always tried to buy based partly on aesthetics. That way even if it's not what I think it might be at least I've got something pretty!

 

& pretty...that double gourd is !!!

 

Ah ...grasshopper ... the way of the connoisseur - you can't go wrong if you buy quality. Good for you!

 

The calligraphy may look "freely written", but the figures and the millefleur are quite crude. Here are some examples of the Meiji period style of Satsuma I think this vase is trying to imitate:

https://antiquestothetrade.com/home...meiji-satsuma-mille-flor-enameled-gourd-vase/

https://www.auctionzip.com/auction-lot/A-19TH-CENTURY-JAPANESE-MEIJI-PERIOD-SATSUMA-VASE_483498DB05

https://auction.catawiki.com/kavels...-at-play-japan-late-19th-century-meiji-period

https://collections.museumvictoria.com.au/items/1453195

 

I'm quite familiar with Satsuma POTTERY - however, this is PORCELAIN. The motif of those figures, however "crude", is not exclusively the domain of Satsuma or other Kyoto earthenware potters. I agree the piece is probably catering to the same market as Satsuma, but the fact it is a little "cruder" may only be because of a later date.

Here are a pair of Kutani porcelain wedding cups in my collection that pre-date the Satsuma pottery you have shown here, but as you see these are porcelain and employ a similar "crude" figural motif.

 

@dgbjwc You may want to take a look at this thread regarding a similar Kutani vase to yours

https://bidamount.com/the-bidamount...ith-chinese-mark-not-really-sure-what-this-is

 

That's it! That's my vase! Thank you so much for finding this!

Don

 

This is the "complete" Kutani mark on your vase

 

Thank you again. They didn't do a very good job of applying the stamp to my vase (not that it would have helped me much anyway)!
Don

 

Now that I can see the full mark, I see the similarity to Kutani marks on Gotheborg. I stand corrected.