Commerce

This article is intended to get the reader more involved than to just look at pictures. In this process I hope to:
1. Present the reader with sufficient history to better understand the dynamics of the Japanese porcelain industry, basically over of period of 50 years, from 1890 to 1940.
2. Illustrate, to the extent possible, the wide range of products, manufactories, backstamps and associated information to provide a chronology for the items presented.  Beauty, although generally nice to see, should not be assumed.
3. Use pictures, primarily of Nippon items from my collection, to illustrate the vast range of artistic proficiency and stylistic and technical advances over this time period, and
4. Challenge each reader to evaluate items pictured and arrive at their own conclusions.
But beware, somethings things may not be what they seem!

I initial intention was to give a short introduction to the Kinkozan studio, as the producer of Royal Nishiki Nippon porcelains, and then use my modest collection as illustrations. That intention, as I soon discovered, was akin to describing “War and Peace” by looking at only a single chapter. Clearly, a much more comprehensive examination of historical and academic reports would be required to adequately discuss the artistic evolution of both the Japanese ceramic industry
and a historically influential Kinkozan family pottery. What an adventure this turned out to be!
Consequently, my three focal points of this more expansive review are:
1. Kyoto and the Kinkozan studio, the largest producer of Satsuma-style
products during the Meiji and Taisho periods.
2. The evolution of the Japanese artistic and ceramic industry and, in
particular Kinkozan Sobei VI and VII’s, production and stylistic adaptations
and business strategies of the firm up to the closure of the factory in early
1930’s, and
3. Kinkozan Sobei VII as an active influence on the production and
distribution of Nippon era ceramics.

In this study we have found that he history of Ohio China Company and the technical advances in porcelain production in Japan, around the turn of the century, fit.  The “quality control” and trademark protection strategies of Morimura Brothers and the Maple Leaf Nippon OCCO marks are consistent.  The business model of Morimura Brothers, specially the Advance Order System, successfully generated large orders for porcelain from “more remote areas”, such as East Palestine, Ohio.
In addition, the business relationship that existed between Morimura Brothers and Ohio China Company seems to be firmly established, however, the “unique” application of the OCCO on an Old Noritake product and mark that was so zealously protected by Morimura Brothers remains a mystery.

In order to appreciate the continental, cultural and stylistic interrelationships between Japanese, European and North American, I would that I had to go back in history to fully understand how porcelains and related artworks, especially Chinese, Japanese and then British and continental European, influenced each other.  It was much more difficult to fully comprehend the transition of Japanese artworks in the western style through Art Nouveau and into Art Deco than I would have imagined.

This is a continuation of  The Legacy of Japanese Artistic Influence on Art Nouveau -The Tides of Change.  In this section I focus on the major changes in the Japanese porcelain industry as they respond to pressures to "westernize".  As I proceed into the Gallery, my focus is to tie "influences", such as Rococo, Arts and Crafts, to examples to Nippon era porcelains.

As this is primarily an educational/informational paper for Japanese porcelain collectors, primarily Noritake and Nippon era export porcelains, I felt it essential to illustrate as many features of Art Nouveau, Rococo and/or Arts and Crafts, as I could.  My goal was for me to better understand these relationships and, more importantly, the influences shared globally that shaped Art Nouveau and traditional and export porcelains produced in Japan.

The warp and the weft of the weave provide the framework of the cloth, rug or other textile the weaver is about to produce and varies by the threads per inch, spacing, colour and the design.  Over time, the fundamentals remain but the artist creates designs with endless possibilities.  I believe that humans are largely unbound when it comes to artistic endeavours. I say largely because there comes a point in time when the life experiences; what an individual has seen, heard or read “influences” thoughts or actions. In other words, creativity is evolutionary rather than revolutionary! Creations, philosophies and/or artistic styles usually arrive with much celebration, reach its zenith and then fade from fashion. But they never cease to exist!

I have been collecting Japanese porcelains, predominantly Old Noritake and other Nippon era artifacts, for over thirty years and I love the learning and sharing aspect of my hobby and passion.  As I learned I became more aware of an abundance of knowledge of many of the aspects of the Japanese artistic porcelain world, on the one hand, coexisting with an often fragmented and/or incomplete understanding of many of the principles, manufacturers and artists who produced these artifacts, on the other hand. 
Within these pages my goal is to bring as many pieces of a huge puzzle together as possible, thereby stimulating discussion and new information that will lead to even more discoveries.

"Soon after the opening of several Japanese ports in 1859, Westerners began to head for Japan to Yokohama, looking for business opportunities. These gaisho traders, protected by treaties, had dominated Japan's international trade for decades. For example, it is known that even Liberty & Company-a key player in the British Aesthetic Movement and Japanism-procured Japanese goods from many suppliers located in London, and behind those wholesalers were the gaisho traders based in the Japanese treaty ports."

This could be considered an ode to the Peacock but with the qualification that it is largely about the global presence of the peacock in art.  While many of the artifacts are "high" in both artistic merit and value, that is not the main focus.  Primarily, I have presented the story of Japanese cloisonne including how the Japanese are so closely associated with the peacock and art nouveau.  Tiffany, Faberge and high end stained glass are on one side of the Golden Age of Cloisonne and modern peacock stained glass peacock windows are on the other.  However, it is worth repeating that entrepreneurial spirit of the Japanese overcame all barriers faced by them in the exercise of their export market "craft art" and what we have today is an appreciation for the peacock in the global art world that is truly "art for arts sake".

The story of the development of wireless cloisonne, the Golden Age of enamels in Japan and a pictorial history of Namikawa Sosuke.  This is a blend of the research and findings of academics and the postings of research analysts and auction house agents as cloisonne artifacts associated with Sosuke were originally developed and sold to a waiting export market or, in later life, presented at auction houses or on the internet.  The artwork is amazing, the writings are extensive but there are facts and confirmations but also puzzles in the marking protocols that could not be fully resolved.