For your viewing and bidding pleasure I would like
to present a beautiful example of Nippon Geisha Girl Art in the form of a Cobalt Rimmed shallow bowl or
tray. Although the piece has no back
stamp, I believe it is of Torii origin with the Van Patten Mark 113 embedded within the artwork. The Torii Mark can be found almost anywhere on pieces
produced during this era; the late 19th
Century. A
Torii is a traditional Japanese gate commonly found at the entry
to a Shinto shrine. It has two upright
supports and two crossbars on the top and symbolizes good fortune and
prosperity.
This period was the Golden Age of “Geisha Ware”, when
there were more than 125 different recorded
patterns being produced by many different porcelain Artists working for major
porcelain manufacturers and small Mom and Pop Shops which often included the
whole family in participating the enterprise.
It was relatively inexpensive and was often
sold in the U.S.
in Dime Stores
(remember those?), I think they call
them dollar stores now. They were also given away as premiums in bags of rice
etc… They often were marked with paper
stickers sometimes carrying the name of the store. Most if not all Geisha Girl Porcelain Art share some
common characteristics; They depict colorful Kimono dressed Geishas in different settings,
they use great detail in the Art Work with extremely fine brush strokes (finer than the width of a human hair in
some cases) and use bold beautiful colors sometimes accented with Gold embellishments and trim. They are highly collectible and represent a great value as an investment.
This little piece ( 7 1/2"x 4"x 1 1/2") is one of the most colorful
and detailed examples of this Art Form.
It depicts two Geishas in a garden spot across the river from the
Village. The Geisha in the subservient position
is a Maiko
(Geisha in training) and is wearing
a purple (gold embellished) Kimono. The Geisha that
is standing is most likely a Geisha “older
sister” rather than a Geisha Teacher as the Teachers were almost
exclusively males. She is wearing a red (gold embellished)
Kimono and is probably giving her younger “sister”
a few tips.
To the left of the (older sister) is a two
panel partition with the aforementioned brushstrokes that are thinner than a
human hair. There are a couple of very
small areas on this panel that are missing paint, but don’t let my extreme
close up photo throw you off, remember that the brush strokes surrounding these spots are thinner than a human
hair. In actuality the larger spot is
about 1/8” wide. Keep in mind that this
piece is over 100 years old.
Hanging from the cherry tree are 6
beautiful lanterns which are of course trimmed in gold. The Art work on these is exquisite. Below these lanterns in the background and
across the river lies the village. It is
in this Village Scene that I believe the Torii Mark resides. As I mentioned earlier, Torii Marks can be found almost
anywhere on a piece.
The rim of the piece is painted in a
stunning Cobalt Blue with sparkling gold designs running through its’
entirety. The balance of the wonderful Art work is floral with one large pink
and one smaller purple rose. In addition
there is a multi-color floral arrangement on top of the partition and several
pink flowers beneath the Geishas.
Other than the missing paint mentioned
above and some “slipped” brush
strokes of blue, gold and pink on the bottom, this piece is in excellent
condition with no chips, cracks, dings, repairs or crazing present. The bottom has some rough spots but this
great piece looks much like it did when it came out of the Kiln over 100 years ago.
This beautiful piece would be an excellent
addition to any Nippon collection but should
especially be of interest to Torii or Geisha Girl collectors.
Please ask any questions before you bid. I
will usually ship within three business days of payment clearance using the
finest of Eco-Friendly packaging materials including biodegradable packaging
“peanuts”.
International customers need to contact me
for specific shipping and insurance costs.
All the collectibles I sell are guaranteed
to your satisfaction. (Please see return policy for details).
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future listings of more affordable collectibles.
Domo
Arigato for viewing and bidding!!!
Teddyvision.608