Antique Shows

Some Green Transferware (Inban That Is) For Christmas

Of course the photo I want is sitting in a “to be scanned” pile back in Tokyo, while I am sitting in a relatively warm and sunny Florida, so I’ll have to settle for the dining room of Mari Ann and Michael Maher’s Llewellyn Park home, but I wish I could have the kitchen too. Their house, featured in the July 2007 Elle Decor remains my touchstone of the perfect family home, and I have shown the living room here before. I wish the Elle Decor online photos were as complete as the magazine – they lack the exterior in addition to the kitchen and perhaps a few others. The house is beautifully historical, gorgeously but comfortably furnished, with a feeling that every space is used and used well. I can think of no better spot than this dining room for Christmas dinner. But what I really want to focus on is that collection of transferware straight back in the cabinet against the wall. I know the photo of the kitchen has some hanging on the walls too, so it may be irresistible to add it when I get back to Tokyo after the New Year.

English Staffordshire dishes, routinely called transferware, have been on my mind a lot lately. To basically quote myself, “transfer printing was invented in England in 1756 and developed as an inexpensive way to recreate the characteristics of the hand painted underglaze blue ceramics of China and Japan. Ironically, transfer printing does not become popular in Japan until the late 19th century, but modern-day markets abound with transfer printed pieces that show it eventually did.” These Japanese transfer printed pieces, referred to as inban, are one of the absolute bargains to be found at almost any shrine sale or antique show.

English transferware was predominantly blue and white, but red, brown, black, yellow, purple and green were also made, particularly for export as well as much brown in the later 19th century aesthetic pieces.

In Japan, 90% of the printed inban is blue and white, and easily mixed and matched. I often push clients towards them as an alternative to the modern inexpensive dishes found at those large discount outlets. But much rarer than the blue and white, thus making them more fun to collect, are the green and white pieces, perfect for Christmas dining tables right now, but also for everyday use. Already having an extensive lavender and white English transferware collection, carefully brought with me to Japan, I have forced myself to limit my green and white collection to photos only, but find it increasingly hard not to buy. So for a little holiday season cheer, I’ll share my collection and let you all imagine how you might have added these items to your tables, hutches, cabinets or displays.

I think I’ll start with this one, just because the pattern reminds me of a snowflake and seems that much more seasonal.

Butterflies are pretty and a bit special.

Casual chrysanthemum laid over a karakusa background.

A little sho-chiku-bai (pine-bamboo-plum), our classic three friends of winter.

Sakura, or cherry blossom is common…

…as you can see, along with its sister ume (plum). Confused about bai and ume being the same thing? They are the same kanji, just different readings. Remember me mentioning I needed to work on my kanji – that is why I don’t make any progress!

There is a bit of every pattern hidden in these plates. And be sure to remember this bird and flower motif for the very end of the post.

You could think of these as tiny little Christmas trees.

I know there has to be a full story behind this plate – Chinese zodiac maybe? – but I am too lazy to look closely at it right now.

Some basho (banana leaves) in a star-like shape and goldfish swimming in the river.

When you consider how influenced late 19th century English transferware was by Japanese design, it is fun to think about mixing the two! Look closely at the border of the Cashmere pattern platter below from Merlin Antiques and compare the small stylized patterns to those in the Japanese pieces above. Then compare the bird and floral images with those in the plates a few photos above…

Happy Holidays to all!!!!

Image credits: 1. Elle Decor July 2007, photo credit: William Abranowicz, 2-3 Martha Stewart Living November 1995, last photo via Merlin Antiques, all additional photos by me.

Dec 24, 2011 By tokyojinja in Antique Shows, Color, Porcelain and Pottery, Shrine Sales and Flea Markets 7 Comments Tags: inban, Llewellyn Park, Martha Stewart, Michael Maher, Staffordshire, transfer printing, transferware

Gift Guide…Super Tsuba Inspired Napkin Holder

Found at almost any antique show and many shrine sales, Tsuba, the ornate metal sword hand guards, a key component of any good samurai’s sword uniform, are one of those things that befuddle me a bit. While I adore Japanese metal work and its incredible influence on my original specialty, 19th century American silver, I seem to lack enough testosterone to find the tsuba themselves fascinating. And buyer beware, they (along with inro and netsuke) are one of the few areas of Japanese antiques in which fakes, or recent copies abound. Real ones should be crazy expensive, as in 5 digit yen at least, so if you find one at a flea market for the equivalent of $50, most likely it is too good to be true. And like obidome, which I adore, they are beautiful, no doubt, but what are you actually going to do with them?

Enter November’s House Beautiful and an ingenious design by Josie Natori – this Tsuba inspired napkin holder – gorgeous holding paper napkins on a drinks bar, or even for an outside party, so that they won’t blow away.

A perfect house or holiday gift, no?

Nov 27, 2011 By tokyojinja in Antique Shows, Housewares, Metals, Shrine Sales and Flea Markets 2 Comments Tags: gift guide, Japanese metalwork, Josie Natori, sword guards, tsuba

Selective Perception…Maekake at the Heiwajima Antiques Fair and Kawagoe Shrine Sale

I am having another round of selective perception. Do you know the feeling when you notice something once and then next thing you know it is just everywhere? That has been the case with vintage Japanese maekake, the heavy cotton aprons, usually dark indigo in color, historically worn by staff at small manufacturers and breweries. These days they are retro-chic with the young set, being worn by staff at cool izakayas (simple food and bar restaurants). They have almost a denim feel and the waist ties are a thick woven double-sided cotton, often bright orange. Their simple but strong graphics caught my eye again and again at the Heiwajima Antiques Fair last week.

Many are around the fifty year old mark. You can often tell more specifically by the old-fashioned telephone numbers or styles of writing.

One idea on how to reuse the maekake, besides the obvious original intention, is to turn them into visually graphic pillows like these in Paul Ludick’s living room made from simple kamon (japanese crests) banners.

But the best idea by far is one I don’t have a photo of. Aaargh! Much to my chagrin, I was too busy talking to a lovely gentleman at the fair about his handmade maekake tote bag that I forgot to take a photo. (Hmmm….seem to be doing a lot of that lately). Anyway, he (or actually his wife) had sewn a bag out of a vintage apron and it was great looking. The zipper pocket in this one got me thinking about making one for myself – perfect for a cellphone or a couple of bucks (or should I say yen?). I didn’t end up buying any but went home stewing on the idea.

A few days later the Kawagoe market was full of aprons too.

I found a fabulous and unusually colored faded green one too, but another young woman browsing seemed to want it so desperately that I gave it to her. I found more joy in her happiness than I would have had in purchasing it.

My favorite dealer was wearing one exactly as it should be worn! I noticed other dealers wearing the sturdy aprons too.

So if fate was surrounding me with aprons, then I was clearly meant to buy one. I found a really cute small one with an outside pocket and a great design. I am pretty sure it is from a sake brewery.

Stay tuned to see the finished project!

Speaking of indigo bags, my friend Jane Farrell has been sewing absolutely beautiful patchwork and sashiko totes. I am going to try to have her work for sale sometime soon!

And speaking of selective perception, the aprons are not the only things that have been clubbing me over the head. Remember those great vintage shoyu (soy sauce) bottles I just wrote about? I had never particularly noticed them before either, yet I saw them everywhere at the Oedo fair with Peri Wolfman and also at Heiwajima. Definitely different bottles and different dealers too!

Continuing off the topic, but still kinda on it, hop over to the post I wrote this summer about Wedgwood jasperware cheese keepers. Had a huge spate of selective perception there too so I added a big addendum to the post!

Image credits: all photos mine with the exception of the Elle Decor December 2006, photo credit: William Waldron, and Jane Farrell bags courtesy of the artist.

Sep 29, 2011 By tokyojinja in Antique Shows, Glass, Housewares, Shrine Sales and Flea Markets, Textiles 10 Comments Tags: aprons, indigo, japanese antiques, Japanese design, Jasperware, maekake, pillows, textiles, tote bag, vintage, vintage glass, Wedgwood

Finally Found…The Perfect Vintage Japanese Milk Glass Lamp

Finally, something accomplished and not just thought about! I have long admired the vintage milk glass lamps popular in Japan from the early part of the 20th century through the post-WW II era, with their peak of production and design from the 1920s-1940s. While quite similar to their counterparts in America and Europe, the Japanese fixtures have extra details that you don’t find elsewhere, meant to approximate earlier lamps with metal mounts. The added charm of the Asian motifs make these glass lamps particularly collectible and as they are rarely seen outside of Japan, a unique addition to one’s decor.

I have a small open bottom fixture hanging in my guest room here in Tokyo as a reading lamp, since there is not really room for a proper night table. I would also like to find one for the ceiling in my newly renovated bathroom at our beach house in New Jersey, albeit much larger.

These open bottom hanging glass shades are the most common, adorned with metal, plastic or bamboo detailing…

or sometimes frosted insets, raised molded glass patterns or a combination of any and all of the above.

Less common, but still frequently seen are the closed variety, particularly this globular shape, often embellished with a hanging tassel.

Here’s another charming example.

A specialized dealer at the Antique Jamboree had an incredible collection of globe fixtures. There is a special summer Jamboree this year from July 22-24. See the “Shrine Sale” tab at the top of the blog for more details.

Even more spectacular and unusual were these porcelain sockets and fittings. I had occasionally seen the white ones, but never before the blue and white. They seem like the kind of perfect antique detail designer Michael Smith would add to an interior project.

In addition to fixtures that hang from cords, there are also some that have a stiff metal bar. A pair of these would look perfect hanging over a kitchen island.

I debated about buying this unusual long shaped fixture. It had a nautical feel that might have been right for the beach house bathroom, but seemed too long and narrow for the space.

I loved this pair of sconces but couldn’t think of a place to put them

I never did make it back to the fantastic shop The Teardrop Club…

…or Rakuda in Nishi-Ogikubo.

In the end, I decided the detailing on the fixtures was at odds with the simplicity of the bathroom. I also had the realization that the low ceiling might not accommodate a hanging fixture. Luckily, the glass globes can also have fixed ceiling mounts. I thought about giving up and just buying a new fixture, but in my heart I wanted the vintage charm of an older fixture (even with the hassles of re-wiring) versus a sparkling brand new one from the excellent reproduction companies like Schoolhouse Electric Co. or even the mainstream home catalogs. The answer, I decided, was a simpler more “schoolhouse” shape with a ceiling mount.

So the winner came from Kanarusha Antiques. They had long been holding another glass shade for me, waiting on finding the proper vintage fittings. So often the glass globes are available, but not the lamp socket attachments, and I didn’t want to count on anything in the US actually being the proper size. I was never sure the other shade was perfect – it seemed too small and insignificant -so last Friday I stopped by and they had this beauty! I dug through a crate of vintage socket fittings they had just received, found this well patinated metal ceiling fitting and married it to the shade. Perfect!

A dear friend sent me this photo of a tenugui she had purchased just before leaving Japan last year. Tenugui are thin cotton towels, usually a standard size, printed with absolutely anything and used for just about everything. They probably deserve a post of their own! I had never seen this one and got a great laugh from it. She has framed it and some others for a unique art display. Make sure to note the discontinued Lee Jofa fabric covering the chairs that we tracked down from an old 2003 issue of House Beautiful.

The lamp photos were taken over the course of the year at numerous shrine sales and different antique shows, illustrating their high level of availabilty. Keep your eyes open!

May 29, 2011 By tokyojinja in Antique Shows, Glass, Lighting, Renovation and Decoration Report, Shop Talk, Shrine Sales and Flea Markets 2 Comments Tags: bathroom renovation, flea market, Heiwajima, Jamboree, Kanarusha, light fixtures, lighting, milk glass, Nishi-Ogikubo, shrine sale, Tomioka Hachimangu

Tussle at the Antique Jamboree…or the Never Wait Rule

Back in December I stopped by the Nogi Jinja sale and got “accidentally” pulled in by some 19th century Japanese botanical prints. They called my name (hollered actually) even though I was not out shopping for prints or anything particular at all. Much like ukiyo-e, they were mass printed on paper and probably bound in some sort of book or pamphlet originally. These are entitled “One Hundred Views of Flowers”, a typical naming device, and I am sure there were actually a hundred at some point. While the flowers depicted are all commonly grown in the West and easily recognizable, their presentation within the boundaries of the images is very Eastern and I loved that. Foolishly, I bought three. Foolish because I bought them? No, foolish because I only bought three. Upon further reflection at home I realized of course, I needed four, two to hang on each side of the window. The difficulty was that there would not be a January sale held at Nogi shrine and I did not know where else to look for that particular dealer. I had never seen these prints elsewhere either.

What charmed me about them was that they felt like a cross between traditional botanical prints which I find more formal…

…and the framed herbiers (pressed flower and plant pictures) we have been seeing a lot of in recent years, such as in this Ginger Barber designed Texas guesthouse.

Or these, in Jeffrey Bilhuber’s Nantucket Cottage.

So imagine my surprise when I came across them early on as I browsed the huge Antique Jamboree out at Tokyo Big Sight in early January. Unfortunately, I had forgotten to get cash before going and was hoarding the little I had. I also could not quite remember exactly which three I had bought – which flowers and how they were arranged. It seemed important to have two consistent pairs, with the colors and orientations picked carefully. After a chat with the dealer about when and where I could find her in the coming month, I walked away to scope out the other 499 dealers. (Cue the dramatic tension inducing music)

Wait (even the most inexperienced among my readers) you cry out! Could I possibly be breaking the golden rule of antiquing, NEVER WAIT? As all antiques are unique you roll the dice walking away from anything you might want, even for a short time. And this is Japan, which while officially in recession for the last 20 years or so, is the land of “sold out”. There is no inventory or stock of anything and hesitating before purchasing is sure to bring disappointment. Nonetheless, I was cocky and confident and walked on.

Two hours later, after a long a fruitless afternoon of over-priced and relatively uninteresting items, I was walking out to leave when I spied a Japanese couple looking at MY prints (note the capitals). I sauntered over, sure they would not be buying. Not wanting to be rude, I held back and waited, only to slowly come to the realization that they were buying and perhaps buying deeply! I knew I would never find this set of prints again. All of a sudden the New Yorker in me stepped up to the plate – I was going to get my print no matter what. We began a dance as they realized I was interested – they were not giving an inch – no gaijin (foreigner) free pass. When they put one down, I picked it up. We both started scrambling. I could see they had the one I wanted in their hands as I realized I held one they desired. I tried to get the dealer to intervene, after all, she knew I had others and needed one more, but she was not going to help as they were buying many. I took a chance and set one down, the husband followed suit. Quickly I picked that one up as the wife seemed annoyed that he had relinquished it. He said something to her that calmed her and they settled and paid up, the dealer giving them a discount for a bulk purchase. As I went to pay, I realized I had been trumped. My print was torn and that was why they left it. Frustratingly, the dealer did not want to give me any discount, neither on the strength of my prior purchase nor the damage of the current one. Shoganai (nothing can be done), is never my favorite term, but in this case, it was true. The matting would just have to cover the tear.

Luckily, the print I had managed to purchase worked perfectly with the others I had already bought. I called the framer, as key to bringing out the beauty in these would rest on their presentation. Normally, I am not a colored mat kind of girl, but between everyone else’s obsession with colored mats these days and the fact that they looked blah with just a beigy tea-stained one, I decided to give color a try.

And what a color it is! Inky dark blue-green, with a very thin aged gilded frame. The key to the whole thing was having the inside edge of the mat darkened. I really love how these came out!

While this story has a happy ending, it might not have. Take it from me and remember, if you love something antique or vintage and the price is right, don’t wait, just BUY IT!

Feb 8, 2011 By tokyojinja in Antique Shows, Ephemera, Expat Life 19 Comments Tags: Benjamin Maund, Coleen Rider, Ginger Barber, japanese prints, Jeffrey Bilhuber, Redoute, ukiyo-e

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