Can you identify this Japanese tea cup?

May 9, 2006 10:46 PM

Please identify this Japanese tea cup. A friend is looking to find other pieces of the set. She is hoping that someone can identify the brand or provide more information, probable dating, etc. First picture, Second picture. Thank you.
posted by user92371 to shopping (7 answers total)

The name on there is "Sansho" or more accurately, "Sanshou".
posted by planetkyoto at 12:28 AM on May 10, 2006

Forgot to include the kanji: 山章
posted by planetkyoto at 12:43 AM on May 10, 2006

Really? I always thought that in a seal there is only one character. I figured it was this: 嶂, but my tensho reading is quite bad! Also, seals largely use traditional styles of writing, so a common version of the character might be different...
posted by GooseOnTheLoose at 12:49 AM on May 10, 2006

Well, ok, here goes. Further proof, anyway, that you should never listen to a white person when it comes to asian writing.

Upon asking a Japanese, I was informed that it is likely read "shouzan" as the shou is above the zan, and zan is typically something an artist would write after their name. What planetkyoto originally said, but reversed.

This is something I found on the google images after typing in 章山 and 窯 (vague pottery-related character). The one in the top left looks like it is by your artist, unless there are lots of shouzan's that do pottery. Hopefully someone either knows more about this and will help you more significantly than this, or maybe it is enough for you or someone else to hunt out more works by this guy/company.

G'luck!
posted by GooseOnTheLoose at 4:42 AM on May 10, 2006

I don't know how they'd be with a really obscure Japanese pattern, but the Replacements identification service has been helpful with others. Good luck.
posted by theredpen at 10:07 AM on May 10, 2006

Try Gotheborg's online guide to Japanese Pottery marks or their discussion forum. Because of the "Made in Japan" notation, I would guess this is post WWII (before then, exported Japanese pottery was marked differently.)
posted by jeanmari at 2:49 PM on May 10, 2006

The "Made in Japan" imprint leads me to believe it was mass produced rather than a handmade or one-of-a-kind item. So "Shouzan" is probably nothing more than the company name, product line name, or specific product series.

Try contacting a large Japanese ceramics/tableware distributor like Utsuwa-no-Yakata, send them your photos, and see if they come up with a match.
posted by junesix at 7:44 PM on May 10, 2006