{"product_id":"miniature-porcelain-settee-with-hand-applied-flowers-and-gilt-lining-stamped-made-in-occupied-japan-datable-to-february-1947-april-1952","title":"Miniature Porcelain Settee with Hand-Applied Flowers and Gilt Lining, Stamped Made in Occupied Japan — Datable to February 1947 – April 1952","description":"\u003ch3\u003eThe Piece\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eA porcelain sofa three inches wide, made to be looked at rather than used, and stamped underneath with a phrase that fixes it to a five-year window.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe form is a settee in the eighteenth-century taste, shrunk to the size of a matchbox: a serpentine back rail, outscrolled arms, a shaped apron and four cabriole legs.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe ground is a pale blue wash over white porcelain, and around the back rail, the arms and the apron runs a border of hand-formed flowers applied one at a time — pink, cornflower blue and mauve blooms, each with a yellow centre.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAcross the seat and the back panel are painted sprays of red-pink blossom on fine red stems with green leaves, and a line of gilt is drawn along the moulded edges.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA narrow horizontal opening runs through the centre of the back panel.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTurn it over and the underside is glazed white and carries two marks. The first is stamped in black: MADE IN OCCUPIED JAPAN. The second is painted by hand in cobalt blue — four upright strokes and a chevron.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eHistory \u0026amp; Provenance\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThose three stamped words are one of the tightest dates any decorative object can carry.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe American occupation of Japan began in September 1945 and ended on 28 April 1952. The marking requirement is narrower than the occupation itself: exports were required to carry Occupied Japan or Made in Occupied Japan from February 1947 until the occupation closed. Goods shipped before that requirement went out marked simply Japan.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSo this settee was made and exported inside a window of five years and two months, and no style judgment is involved in saying so. The object dates itself.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt also sits inside a specific economic story. Japan's export industries were rebuilt under occupation as a way of earning foreign currency, and the potteries turned out enormous quantities of small, cheap, highly decorated giftware aimed squarely at American shops — figurines, toby jugs, salt and pepper sets, and miniature furniture like this one. Americans bought them by the crate. The marking that was imposed as a condition of trade is now the reason collectors seek them out.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe applied flowers are the hand work, and they are what the piece was sold on. Each bloom was rolled and shaped individually, set onto the body before firing, and painted after. There is no mould that makes a flower like that. On an object this small it is fiddly, slow work, and it was being done at a price a Woolworth's counter could carry.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe blue mark is worth knowing about, because people mistake it for a maker. It is not a factory mark and it does not identify a firm. Hand-painted strokes of this kind are a decorator's tally — the mark of the individual who painted the piece, applied so the workshop could count output and attribute the work. It names a person nobody recorded.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe settee carries no factory name and is offered unattributed as to maker. Dated on the stamp: February 1947 to April 1952.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eProduct Details\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003ctable\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eObject\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eMiniature porcelain settee with hand-applied flowers\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eDimensions\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eApproximately 3 in wide by 2½ in high by 2 in deep\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eForm\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eSerpentine back rail, outscrolled arms, shaped apron, four cabriole legs; a narrow horizontal opening through the centre of the back panel\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eDecoration\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePale blue wash over white porcelain; a border of individually hand-formed applied flowers in pink, blue and mauve with yellow centres, ringing the back rail, arms and apron; painted sprays of red-pink blossom with green leaves on the seat and back; gilt lining to the moulded edges\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eMarks\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eStamped in black to the underside: MADE IN OCCUPIED JAPAN. A hand-painted cobalt decorator's tally alongside — four strokes and a chevron — which is a painter's mark rather than a maker's. No factory name; offered unattributed.\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eEra\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eFebruary 1947 to April 1952, on the stamp. The Occupied Japan marking was required from February 1947 until the occupation ended on 28 April 1952; exports before that were marked simply Japan.\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eCondition\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eStructurally sound and stated in full. The settee stands level on all four legs, the body is free of cracks, and both marks on the underside are complete and fully legible. There is loss to several of the applied flowers: at least one is broken away leaving its stub, and others show chipped petals with white break surfaces. The seat carries areas of surface loss that read as pale streaks, with one rougher patch toward the back. There is a tan residue at the base of several flowers. The gilt lining is rubbed in places. The painted sprays and the blue ground are otherwise bright. Sold as a decorative object. 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\u003ch3\u003eWhy It Belongs in Your Home\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eVery few objects you can hold in one hand will tell you their own date to within five years.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThat is the whole reason to own this one. Most small decorative porcelain is undated, unmarked and unplaceable. This settee is stamped with a phrase that existed only between February 1947 and April 1952, and that turns a three-inch ornament into a dated artefact of the post-war years.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt is also charming without being sweet, which is a narrow line. Pale blue, a ring of tiny flowers and a line of gold, at a size that makes people lean in — and then a piece of real history underneath it.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eScale is what it does best. On a crowded shelf a small object disappears; alone on a wide surface it commands a surprising amount of attention. Put it on its own on a mantel, a windowsill, a bathroom shelf or a bedside table and it holds the space.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt belongs with other small things too — a dolls' house, a curio cabinet, a shadow box, a shelf of miniatures. Collectors of Occupied Japan hunt these specifically, and miniature furniture is one of the more sought-after forms within it.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd it makes a genuine gift for the right person: anyone who collects miniatures, anyone interested in the post-war years, or anyone who simply likes an object that comes with a fact attached.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA note on care, and the flowers are the whole of it. Never wash it and never soak it. The applied petals are the thinnest porcelain on the piece, several are already reduced, and water pressure alone can take more.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDust it with a soft dry brush and never a cloth. A cloth catches on petal edges and snaps them; a clean makeup brush reaches between the blooms.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLift it by the seat or the body, never by an arm, a leg or the back rail. Those are the thin points.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eKeep it out of direct sun, and if you move it, wrap it in tissue rather than paper and give it its own space in the box.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Viridian Eclection","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48058989215849,"sku":"VE-0779","price":58.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0651\/0093\/9369\/files\/2ECA8545-311E-4111-BE23-D261C52913E5.jpg?v=1789428945","url":"https:\/\/viridianeclection.com\/products\/miniature-porcelain-settee-with-hand-applied-flowers-and-gilt-lining-stamped-made-in-occupied-japan-datable-to-february-1947-april-1952","provider":"Viridian Eclection","version":"1.0","type":"link"}