DOI issue:
No. 182 (April, 1912)
DOI article:A dinner service of "old Japan"
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.43449#0401
A Dinner Service of “ Old Japan
“OLD japan” DINNER SERVICE—SPECIMEN PIECES
A DINNER SERVICE OF “OLD
JAPAN” i
k Miss A. C. Eb wards, of Philadel-
phia, Pa., with interesting historical
documentary papers, claims the unique distinction
of sole ownership in America of a set of china sur-
viving the feudal days of Japan, fascinating in
quaint, artistic beauty, rich in gorgeous color,
great in historic value, and laden with symbolical
reading. The service was bought in China by
an old sea captain about the year 1813. Pro-
tected by cabinet enclosure and almost an immune
from the ravages of time, this remarkable set of
fifty-eight pieces, with few exceptions, is preserved
in all its master-hand beauty and skill.
Each piece is endorsed with the signature of one
of Japan’s most famous potters, the translation of
the inscription reading: “Made at Arita TOMI-
MURA Japan.”
Tomimura Kanyemon manufactured porcelain
at Arita, province of Hizen, and made what we
know by the name of “Old Japan.” He traded
with foreign nations in contravention of the then
existing law, was discovered by the Government
and compelled to commit hara-kiri in about the
year 1673. The decoration is in the Nishikide
fashion. Nishikide is the name for porcelain paint-
ed in many colors in Hizen. The ware is thick and
heavy, almost clumsy, made suitable for purposes
of exportation. The paste is hard, fine and pure,
the glaze snow white, dazzling in brilliancy, while
the enamels flash with the gleaming luster of gems,
all boldly painted in red, grass-green, lilac-blue,
gold, and the occasionally introduced black—
characteristic seventeenth-century “Old Japan.”
On the covers, in modeled relief, charming fea-
tures of interest are the modified crests of the kiku
and kiri, and the monogram, indicating, presum-
ably, the member of the imperial family for whom
the set was made. The crests, entwined with
coral scroll (significant of official rank), painted
flat in red, again decorate the bottom of some of
the larger pieces.
Use of crests for decoration purposes was not
customary, it being a violation of the law, but in
the seventeenth century it was a common practice
for makers of “Old Japan” to introduce modifica-
tions of the kiku and kiri crests, and to occasion-
ally paint them, properly displayed, either as a
mark or as an ornament. It is supposed the prac-
tice was discontinued after discovery of the illegal
dealings of TOMIMURA KANYEMON.
“old japan” plate
XL VII
“OLD japan” DINNER SERVICE—SPECIMEN PIECES
A DINNER SERVICE OF “OLD
JAPAN” i
k Miss A. C. Eb wards, of Philadel-
phia, Pa., with interesting historical
documentary papers, claims the unique distinction
of sole ownership in America of a set of china sur-
viving the feudal days of Japan, fascinating in
quaint, artistic beauty, rich in gorgeous color,
great in historic value, and laden with symbolical
reading. The service was bought in China by
an old sea captain about the year 1813. Pro-
tected by cabinet enclosure and almost an immune
from the ravages of time, this remarkable set of
fifty-eight pieces, with few exceptions, is preserved
in all its master-hand beauty and skill.
Each piece is endorsed with the signature of one
of Japan’s most famous potters, the translation of
the inscription reading: “Made at Arita TOMI-
MURA Japan.”
Tomimura Kanyemon manufactured porcelain
at Arita, province of Hizen, and made what we
know by the name of “Old Japan.” He traded
with foreign nations in contravention of the then
existing law, was discovered by the Government
and compelled to commit hara-kiri in about the
year 1673. The decoration is in the Nishikide
fashion. Nishikide is the name for porcelain paint-
ed in many colors in Hizen. The ware is thick and
heavy, almost clumsy, made suitable for purposes
of exportation. The paste is hard, fine and pure,
the glaze snow white, dazzling in brilliancy, while
the enamels flash with the gleaming luster of gems,
all boldly painted in red, grass-green, lilac-blue,
gold, and the occasionally introduced black—
characteristic seventeenth-century “Old Japan.”
On the covers, in modeled relief, charming fea-
tures of interest are the modified crests of the kiku
and kiri, and the monogram, indicating, presum-
ably, the member of the imperial family for whom
the set was made. The crests, entwined with
coral scroll (significant of official rank), painted
flat in red, again decorate the bottom of some of
the larger pieces.
Use of crests for decoration purposes was not
customary, it being a violation of the law, but in
the seventeenth century it was a common practice
for makers of “Old Japan” to introduce modifica-
tions of the kiku and kiri crests, and to occasion-
ally paint them, properly displayed, either as a
mark or as an ornament. It is supposed the prac-
tice was discontinued after discovery of the illegal
dealings of TOMIMURA KANYEMON.
“old japan” plate
XL VII