hand decorated vtg mikado sigma japan vase d'cd fans flowers imari arita rare

Description

the vintage vase
i can find no issues. this has only ever been displayed. i really did a lot of research to figure the marks out. it turns out that mikado means «an emperor of japan», but that doesn't have anything to do with the pot per se. it turns out that mikado was the name of a pattern (according to
replacements
), by the sigma marketing company that existed in the 1980s. they came up with the designs (including mikado) and had their production contracted out to asian porcelain makers. you can read the tiny bit i have been able to find out about them below. it is finished in gold with two rings of it at the foot and at the beginning of the top rim. it is done in the imari-arita ware school of japanese porcelain (you can read more about that below). even the mikadop pattern logo on the base is lovely.
dimensions (you can get a sense of scale in the second-to-last image)
7" tall. outer rim diameter is 3". at its most rotund, it has a circumference of 19 1/2".
marks (see last image)
stamp
mikado
[beautiful fan design]
taste setter by sigma
20
paper label
© taste setter by sigma
please note that all pieces are hand decorated, so color variance could occur. laboratory tested to comply with fda guidelines.
made in japan
about the sigma company
(from: answers)
in the 80s sigma was a marketing company that came up with its own designs and had them manufactured by an assortment of producers, principally in asia. the items were marketed under various names including «sigma», «taste setter», etc.
about imari-arita ware (saga, kyushu)
(from: japanobjects)
imari-arita ware is made around the town of arita, in saga prefecture. its origins go back to edo period (1603-1868). in 1616, sam-pyeong yi, a korean potter, discovered a kaolin deposit on the izumi mountain in arita. around 1650, the production comprised simple and rather thick pieces, finished with blue gosu enamel. in 1647, the first generation of the kakiemon family started using overglaze. in the 1640s, ceramics with a red design named aka-e became the symbol of the kakiemon-style ceramic. by 1688, another important style appeared: kinrande, featuring gold and red patterns. in 1870, gosu porcelain developed, using cobalt as raw material.
imari-arita ware is delicate and lightweight, with an excellent durability. its fine transparent white porcelain, and its colors, indigo, bright red and sometimes gold, make it easily recognizable.
imari-yaki (伊万里焼) and arita-yaki (有田焼) were originally identical, their distinct names coming from the stations and ports used for shipping them, although there has been a tendancy in english to refer the blue and white designs as arita ware, and the more colorful kinrande designs as imari ware. nowadays, arita ware simply describes pieces baked in arita, and imari ware, those are produced in imari.
the artisans of arita continue to innovate in exciting ways.
maker's and/or other marks
(see last image)
stamp
mikado
[beautiful fan design]
taste setter by sigma
20
paper label
© taste setter by sigma
please note that all pieces are hand decorated, so color variance could occur. laboratory tested to comply with fda guidelines.
made in japan
dimensions
(you can get a sense of scale in the second-to-last image)
7" tall. outer rim diameter is 3". at its most rotund, it has a circumference of 19 1/2".
condition
i can find no issues. this has only ever been displayed.
the fine print
the images serve as the majority of the listing description, so take a look at them closely.
shipping costs have really increased—this is calculated into the buy-it-now price.
i am not able to sell individual items from items i have listed as a group. i just don't have the stamina to create new listings for those. i apologize for that. i haven't initially individually listed items because i don't have enough listing slots to so.
trying to downsize some, though extremely melancholically.
shipping time: i otherwise work more than full time and my health isn't great, so kindly excuse the longer handling time. if i am able to ship sooner, i absolutely will do that
. i appreciate you taking the time to view my listing.