A Japanese pseudo cloisonné Satsuma vase with floral design, signed Tanzan, Meiji, 19th C.

H 31,3 cm

Nicely done Awata ware from Kyoto by the Tanzan (丹山) kiln. Tanzan was founded in 1851 and thus not one of the traditional Awata kilns, but by the early Meiji period it was very well respected and among the five or so Awata kilns that are mentioned in all Japanese texts. This style of decoration is called 'barbotine' and was a big hit at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition in 1876 where it was introduced by Haviland & Co. Tanzan kiln founder Tanzan Seikai and his 2nd son Tanzan Rikuro were leading innovators in the Japanese ceramics industry and are credited with introducing this style to Japan in the early Meiji period. It was later used on Nagoya export porcelain (Nippon ware) and is often mislabeled in English as moriage.