Japanese porcelain
Japanese Porcelain Ware: How it Began: The Japanese Porcelain ware was never a big industry until the 17 th century. It is said that at the very end of the 16th century, the Saga Clan brought back the renown potter, Li Sanpei, who along with his craftsmen discovered the porcelain clay at the Arita region of Northern Kyushu. While it is unknown if this is historical fact or mere legend, what is obvious is that all of a sudden, the porcelain industry began to grow remarkably fast in Kyushu, probably aided by the patronage of the local Lords in this new found venture. However, despite the fact that the porcelain industry of Japan was growing fast, it still was no match for the Chinese simply because of the varying styles practiced. The Japanese favoured perfection over production, and would try to perfect their art instead of mass-producing any items. The change occurred with the collapse of the Ming Dynasty that prompted Chinese craftsmen and master potters to migrate over to Japan. At the same time, European traders that were still unable to make porcelain of their own due to the jealously guarded kiln secret for heating the porcelain, were forced to look to Japan for a reliable supply. Thus Japan took up the flagging role of China and began mass-producing various Japanese porcelain ware.
Japanese Porcelain Marks: Signed by the Masters: A notable difference between the Chinese and Japanese porcelain are the marks used on the bottom. While the Chinese porcelain marks are easily identifiable and may be traced back to certain periods of history, Japanese porcelain marks are more confusing, largely due to the nature of their practice as previously explained. Thus the porcelain antiques of Japan could say anything from "made in Japan" to "good luck" with their marks. There was no fixed system for marking until much much later when the porcelain manufacturing in Japan became more organized.
A Look at The Japanese Porcelain Dolls: Japanese porcelain dolls generally are simply regular porcelain dolls with clothes and dress style adopted to mirror that of the Japanese culture. There are a number of more exquisite pieces that stand out, yet none of them bear the hallmark polished white finish that is present in all Japanese porcelain ware. However that is of little surprise seeing as porcelain dolls never really did catch on in Japan, and the very undertaking of it is a fairly recent development.
Antique Japanese Porcelain: The Imari-Arita Ware: The Imari-Arita Ware is possibly the oldest line of Japanese porcelain still around till this very day. Descending from the original Japanese porcelain industry of Kyushu, the antique Imari-Arita porcelains (known as Old Imari) are still the most valuable and sought after pieces among all Japanese porcelain ware. With their distinctive blue-and-white signature style, there is no mistake an Imari-Arita porcelain piece, and the quality of craftsmanship is a notch above any other porcelain manufacturer. Today, the Imari-Arita Ware guards its heritage jealously while preserving it for the years to come.
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