Description
1920's Awaji Japanese Deco Art Pottery Vase Tubelined Squeezbag Decoration in the Style of Moorcroft. Very unusual and wonderful piece. Period art deco, signed Made in Japan and the Awahi Kiln Mark. The outlines of the hand painted decoration are Tubelined. 7.5" tall x 7.25" wide at rim. No cracks, chips, or restorations, some expected crazing, but no stains. While the decoration is also Gouda style, this is really next level quality with the tubelined squeezbag and the great matte glaze. In my opinon this would be a Book Cover type example for a few diferent collecting areas, it's fresh to the market for the first time since the internet. Awaji pottery has got its name after the Japanese island at which it was made during a period of about one hundred years, between 1830 and 1939. Most of the pieces we find are made from the mid 1870's when Awaji began to export its products, to the mid to late 1930's when the last of the kilns closed. Earlier wares from the active period of this kiln catered to the Asian taste and could be found imitating Chinese monochromes from the Kangxi period and later. Wares from the turn of the century, the shapes got more inspired by the western art movement such as Art Deco (Jugend) and Art Noveau. Awaji pottery is usually hand thrown. The body is made of high-fired, white or cream colored clay. Footrims can vary from pink or buff to white or grey. The glazes are lead based and often brilliant in tone. They are typically translucent and have a fine crackle. The lead in the glaze gives the colors brilliance and makes the translucent enamels glassy and often iridescent. Most common are the green and yellow Awaji monochromes. The yellow can range from pale lemon to deep amber but also cobalt blue, aubergine, light green, blue, light and dark turquoise, mirror-black, and burdy occurs. Other wares can feature two-tone glazes, three-color glazes that are very similar to Chinese sancai), pieces, with incised decoration (most commonly featuring iris flowers), and applied relief decoration. Also more gaudy examples from the last decade are Flambé and drip glazed wares similar to Japanese Sumida and Chinese Shiwan pottery, or later Jindezheng Jun or transmutation glazes, with generous layers of thick glaze B35
