{"product_id":"japanese-hand-painted-porcelain-ewer-lakeside-landscape-in-autumn-with-blossoming-trees-gilt-rim-and-loop-handle-marked-made-in-japan-carrying-an-old-family-label-reading-aunt-nett-c-1952-1975","title":"Japanese Hand-Painted Porcelain Ewer, Lakeside Landscape in Autumn with Blossoming Trees, Gilt Rim and Loop Handle, Marked Made in Japan, Carrying an Old Family Label Reading \"Aunt Nett\", c. 1952–1969","description":"\u003ch3\u003eThe Piece\u003c\/h3\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eA small porcelain ewer, painted by hand with a landscape that runs the whole way round the body.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eThe form is drawn out rather than squat: an \u003cstrong\u003eovoid body\u003c\/strong\u003e rising through a narrow waist to a \u003cstrong\u003etall flared neck\u003c\/strong\u003e, finished with a \u003cstrong\u003ehigh pulled spout\u003c\/strong\u003e and a \u003cstrong\u003ewavy rim\u003c\/strong\u003e that dips and lifts. A \u003cstrong\u003ethin loop handle\u003c\/strong\u003e springs from the shoulder and arches well above the rim.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eThe scene is a \u003cstrong\u003elakeside in autumn\u003c\/strong\u003e. A pale blue stretch of water crosses the lower body, broken by rocks and a fallen branch in the foreground. Behind it, \u003cstrong\u003etrees in ochre and gold\u003c\/strong\u003e lean in from the left, a dark green conifer stands to the right, and between them sit \u003cstrong\u003emasses of pink blossom\u003c\/strong\u003e drawn with fine bare branches. Lavender-grey hills close the distance, and a \u003cstrong\u003esmall stroke of orange-red\u003c\/strong\u003e sits at the waterline — the one hot colour in the whole composition, placed exactly where the eye lands.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIt is painted, not printed.\u003c\/strong\u003e The foliage is dabbed with a loaded brush and the marks vary in weight and direction; the branches are drawn in single confident strokes; and the ground colour is laid in visible sweeps. A transfer print repeats the same line everywhere. This does not.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eThe \u003cstrong\u003erim and handle are gilded\u003c\/strong\u003e, and the gilding has worn thin in the places a hand would touch.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eThe foot carries a \u003cstrong\u003eblue underglaze mark reading MADE IN JAPAN\u003c\/strong\u003e, and beside it a small \u003cstrong\u003epaper label inscribed in ink: “Aunt Nett.”\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003ch3\u003eHistory \u0026amp; Provenance\u003c\/h3\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe mark on the foot brackets the date, and it does so by what it does not say as much as by what it does.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e“Made in Japan” rather than “Nippon” puts it after 1921.\u003c\/strong\u003e American customs law had required imported goods to name their country of origin since 1891, and Japanese porcelain satisfied that by marking “Nippon” — until US Customs ruled in 1921 that Nippon was a Japanese word rather than an English one and would no longer serve. From that point the mark had to read Japan.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIt is not marked “Occupied Japan,” which rules out 1947 to 1952.\u003c\/strong\u003e Through the Allied occupation, Japanese goods entering the United States were required to carry that wording. Its absence puts this ewer either side of those years.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eThe remaining evidence — the soft pastel palette, the scenic decoration made for the American gift trade, the blue underglaze stamp — sits with the later window: \u003cstrong\u003ec. 1952–1975\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThese were hand painted at volume, and that is not a contradiction.\u003c\/strong\u003e The post-war Japanese export potteries employed decorators who painted the same scene many times a day, at speed, from memory. The result is neither factory-uniform nor precious: every example differs, and the confidence in the brushwork comes from repetition rather than from deliberation. It is a kind of skill that industrial printing replaced entirely, and it is the reason these pieces still look alive.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe paper label is the part no catalogue can supply.\u003c\/strong\u003e Somebody in a family wrote “Aunt Nett” on a scrap of paper and stuck it to the bottom, which is what people do when an object comes to them from a particular person and they want that remembered. It records no maker and adds nothing to the attribution. It simply says that this ewer sat in a named woman’s house before it sat in anyone else’s, and that whoever inherited it thought that mattered.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eThe label is \u003cstrong\u003eleft in place\u003c\/strong\u003e and sold with the piece.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003ch3\u003eProduct Details\u003c\/h3\u003e\n  \u003ctable\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\n  \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eObject\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eHand-painted porcelain ewer, decorative\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n  \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eDimensions\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eApproximately 7 in tall by 3½ in at the widest\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n  \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eForm\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eOvoid body rising to a tall flared neck with a high pulled spout and wavy rim; thin loop handle arching above the rim; low foot\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n  \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eDecoration\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eHand-painted continuous lakeside landscape in autumn — water, rocks and a fallen branch in the foreground; ochre and gold trees, a dark conifer, pink blossoming trees and lavender hills behind; a single orange-red accent at the waterline. Gilding to the rim and handle.\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n  \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eMarks\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eBlue underglaze mark to the foot: MADE IN JAPAN. Beside it, an old paper label inscribed in ink: “Aunt Nett” — a family provenance note, not a maker’s mark. No maker is named or attributed.\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n  \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eEra\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ec. 1952–1975. “Made in Japan” rather than “Nippon” places it after the 1921 US Customs ruling; the absence of “Occupied Japan” excludes 1947–1952; the palette and the export-trade scenic decoration place it in the later window.\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n  \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eCondition\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eGood. The porcelain is sound with \u003cstrong\u003eno chips, no cracks, no crazing and no repairs\u003c\/strong\u003e, and the rim and spout are smooth and complete. The painted decoration is bright and unfaded, with no rubbing to the colours. \u003cstrong\u003eThe gilding on the rim and handle is worn and thinned\u003c\/strong\u003e in the places a hand touches, showing the white body through in patches — this is handling wear rather than damage, and it is the normal condition of gilt on a piece that was picked up and washed. The interior and foot are clean. The paper label is intact and legible with soft edges. Condition Guaranteed.\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n  \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eAvailability\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eOne of a Kind — 1 Available\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n  \u003c\/tbody\u003e\u003c\/table\u003e\n  \u003ch3\u003eWhy It Belongs in Your Home\u003c\/h3\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eA painted object at seven inches does something a large one cannot: it makes people come closer.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eThe landscape on this ewer is legible from across a room only as colour — gold, pink, a stripe of blue. The trees, the fallen branch, the single red stroke at the waterline only resolve when someone is standing in front of it. That is the right behaviour for a small object on a shelf, and it is why hand-painted work keeps rewarding a room long after printed decoration has gone quiet.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eIt is the correct size for the places large vases fail. A bathroom shelf, a windowsill above a sink, a bedside table, the shallow depth of a plate rail, the corner of a desk. Anywhere you want something and have four inches to give it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAs a vase it wants very little.\u003c\/strong\u003e Three stems, or one. Sweet peas, ranunculus, a few sprigs of something from the garden, or a single branch of blossom to echo what is painted on it. The narrow neck does the arranging for you, which is the whole argument for a small-necked vessel.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eThe palette is unusually easy to place. Soft gold, pink and lavender against white porcelain sits naturally with cream paint, pale oak, brass, and old books, and it warms a cool room without introducing a strong colour you then have to answer for elsewhere.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eAnd the label on the bottom means it arrives having belonged to somebody. Most decorative objects have no history you can point to. This one came from Aunt Nett, whoever she was, and somebody cared enough to write it down before passing it on.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eA note on care. \u003cstrong\u003eHand wash only, in warm water with a little soap, and dry it immediately.\u003c\/strong\u003e Never a dishwasher: detergent strips gilding in a single cycle, and the gold on this rim and handle is already thin.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDo not scrub the gilt.\u003c\/strong\u003e Even a cloth used firmly will take more of it off. Wipe the gold with a light touch or leave it alone entirely.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eKeep it out of the microwave for the same reason — metallic decoration and microwaves do not coexist — and avoid sudden temperature change, which thin porcelain resents.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eIf you use it for flowers, empty and dry it between arrangements. Standing water leaves a mineral ring inside a narrow neck that is difficult to reach and harder to remove.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLeave the paper label where it is.\u003c\/strong\u003e It is the only part of this object that cannot be replaced.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Viridian Eclection","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48047370502249,"sku":"VE-0747","price":48.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0651\/0093\/9369\/files\/IMG_4094.jpg?v=1789301853","url":"https:\/\/viridianeclection.com\/products\/japanese-hand-painted-porcelain-ewer-lakeside-landscape-in-autumn-with-blossoming-trees-gilt-rim-and-loop-handle-marked-made-in-japan-carrying-an-old-family-label-reading-aunt-nett-c-1952-1975","provider":"Viridian Eclection","version":"1.0","type":"link"}