Featured Item! Japan Akita Cedar 3 Frogs Toads
I have a family of 3 carved wooden toads. The wood is Akita Cedar, lightweight and striped. They have little drill holes for nostrils and the two babies have acrylic yellow eyes. The moms eyes are gold metallic paint. The mom does have a glued front toe, but you can't see the repair line with all the woodgrain.
Impressed on the bottom is "Japan". Mama measures 2-1/2" tall x 3-3/4" wide, and the 2 small ones measure 1-1/4" tall x 2" wide.
S O L D
We've all seen them. Tiny little porcelain figurines marked on the bottom "Japan". During wartime, Japan exported these figurines by the millions. For a while, the U.S. forced the Japanese to mark these figurines "occupied". Many of these figures are now very collectible and depending on the manufacturer, can be worth hundreds of dollars. And some unfortunately, are not so wanted.
I've gathered some photos from around the web to show the variations of of the Japanese molds. Most were whimsical and cute in nature. But some were downright wacky in design and color choice.
Here's a couple that show disproportionate limbs and impossible movement. Many figures had human-like features like eyebrows, moustaches, eyelashes, and big smiles.
In the next few photos, look at the human clothing they wear and the bright colors. It made no difference if they painted eyes red, or ears a different color than their bodies. Figurines were also made to wear glasses, smoke pipes, read the newspaper, and sit on the toilet!
Note: All photos belong to their respective owners.
The history of Cloisonne dates back to 1800 BC, in Egypt. During the 13th century BC, the ancient greeks made this art as well. Chinese fired-enamelware dates back as far as the Yuan Dynasty from 1271 and was popularized during China's XuanDe period 1426 to 1435.
Foo Dog, China's Quinlong period (1736-1795) AND Cat box, Japan's Meiji period (1890 to1910)
Cloisonné is the technique of creating designs on bronze, copper, and brass. Small, raised metal dividers are soldered onto the main object making many sections. These are known as cloisons, French for partitions. Liquid "glass paste" is painted within the divided areas, the same way stained glass is made. The enamel shrinks from firing in the oven, so the process is repeated several times to fill in the gaps. The finished object is then polished completely revealing the metal dividers.
Antique cloisonne is a collectors piece and very expensive. Todays cloisonne can be found in pendants, bowls, and home decor items.
Lefton,
Joseph,
Hagen Renaker,
Homco,
Rio Hondo,
Goebel,
Enesco,
Nippon,
Beswick,
Blue Mountain Pottery,
George Good,
Wade,
Takahashi,
Boyds,
Napco,
Lenox,
Leo Ward,
Fitz and Floyd
Mexico,
Germany,
Occupied Japan,
Japan,
Taiwan,
Brass,
Pewter,
Bone China,
Glass,
Wood,
Celluloid,
Cast Iron,
Chalkware,
Metal,
Ceramic,
Miniatures
Birds,
Domestic Animals,
Wild Animals,
Reptiles & Amphibians,
All Categories
Glossary ~
Porcelain
Usually white or light gray in color, porcelain is the highest quality of ceramic ware there is. Composed of clay, feldspar and flint, it is very durable despite the fact that it can appear quite delicate, and is fired at a very high temperature
Bone China
Bone china is a type of porcelain made from clay mixed with bone ash and is characterized by its strength, translucency and warm white color. It fires at a lower temperature than true porcelain.
China
Also known as kaolin, is a white soft clay derived from the decomposition of granite. China clay stands up to high temperatures in the kiln.
Ceramic
Made by shaping and then firing clay, a nonmetallic mineral, at a high temperature in which it produces a hard, brittle, heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant product.
Back Stamps ~
Limited edition (LE): A decorative collectible may be limited by a specific, announced number (such as 5,000 or 10,000) or by time period. Limited edition items typically show two sets of numbers, usually on the base of the item. The higher number indicates the total number produced while the lower number indicates which one you have. Limited editions often come with a Certificate of Authenticity (COA).
Firing limit: Companies such as Avon, Bing & Grondahl, Bradford Exchange, Franklin Mint, Danbury Mint, Hamilton Collection, Knowles, and Royal Copenhagen and others can choose to set a firing limit, meaning that they only make an item during a specified number of firing days. A series of items with a lower firing limit typically has fewer items produced, which often makes the item more desirable to collectors.
Annual edition: are produced for one year.
Open edition: are not limited and could still be in production
