Kutani Shunga Sake Cups, Set of Three in Graduated Sizes, Gold and Enamel Lovers, Unused, Wooden Box
Kutani Shunga Sake Cups, Set of Three in Graduated Sizes, Gold and Enamel Lovers, Unused, Wooden Box
- Dispatch
- Prepared and sent from Tokyo within 7–14 days, often sooner, or as arranged
- Arrival
- United States · usually 4–7 days after dispatch, insured and tracked Check the Shipping Flowchart here
- Import
Duties and customs · View the estimate
A guide for this piece: about $31, based on the 10% US charge on the declared value of goods made in Japan.
The final figure is set by US Customs and depends on where the piece was made and the kind of object it is. Many antiques over a century old carry no ordinary duty; most jewellery and leather goods add a single-digit rate.
With EMS, any charge is collected by your postal service on delivery. For pieces of significant value we can often arrange duties prepaid before dispatch.
How the estimate is reached · Ask for a figure on this piece
- Character
- Ornate 8 of 10 ·
- Replies
- Within one Tokyo business day · Ask the curator team
- Guarantee
- Authenticity guaranteed · How we grade
| Figure | cm | in |
|---|---|---|
| Width | 7.8 cm | 3.1 in |
| Height | 3.0 cm | 1.2 in |
Every piece is measured by hand, in centimetres as Japan measures. Please allow 1–2 cm (about ½ inch) for the give of the material and the hand that held the tape.
Where each figure is taken · View the plate
Object, sculpture and ceramics
Condition report
Mint
- Giftable
- Mint
- Excellent
- Very Good
- Good
- Honest Wear
- As Found
A Toast in Three Sizes
Raise the cup and the drinker meets lovers gazing back from a ground of gold: the higa, the secret picture, was a favourite Kutani joke for the banquet table. Three graduated cups give the host, the guest and the confidant each a scene of their own.
Best for: Collectors of Kutani porcelain and of shunga for the table
Condition notes
Unused stock kept in storage; no chips, cracks or wear to the gold are visible in the photographs. Three cups with their wooden box.
Grades, ratings and commentary are given to the best of our ability, knowledge and experience, and condition remains partly a matter of personal perception. What we stand behind without qualification is authenticity, truthful description and provenance, to the best of our knowledge. How we grade
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All sales are final. Please read our refund policy before purchase.
Considered offers only. The Desk replies personally to figures made in good faith; those set far below the asking price receive no reply.
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Three Kutani sake cups in graduated sizes, each painted inside with a pair of lovers in bright enamels on a shimmering gold ground, kept unused in their wooden box.
This piece belongs to the private room of the house and is shown to adults only.
The Piece
Kutani, in old Kaga province, is known for its bold overglaze enamels and lavish gold; its painters also kept a private line for the banquet, the higa or secret picture, revealed only as the cup was drained.
Each cup here holds a different intimate scene in the manner of Edo makura-e. In the largest, a courtesan in lavender robes scattered with gold blossoms reclines with a gallant in green; in the middle cup, lovers lie against a cushion of red lattice beneath falling cherry petals; in the smallest, a pair embraces in grey and rose. Every rim is finished in gold.
Each foot bears the red painted kiln mark of Kutani. The cups are kept in a plain wooden box inscribed in ink as fortune cups.
Details
- Kiln: Kutani
- Type: Sakazuki, sake cups with shunga decoration
- Technique: Overglaze enamels and gold (kinsai) on porcelain
- Pieces: Three cups, large, medium and small
- Large: Diameter about 7.8 cm (3.1 in), height 3 cm (1.2 in)
- Medium: Diameter about 6.7 cm (2.6 in), height 2.5 cm (1 in)
- Small: Diameter about 6 cm (2.4 in), height 2.4 cm (0.9 in)
- Marks: Kutani, painted in red on each foot
- Box: Wooden box, ink inscription on the lid
Condition
- Unused stock kept in storage.
- No chips, cracks or wear to the gold visible in the photographs.
- The wooden box is included; it is described here rather than photographed.
Condition grade S (unused) on the Japanese scale; see Japanese condition ranks, explained.
Authenticity & Care
Offered as Kutani ware on the strength of the painted kiln mark; no date or individual painter is certified. Wash by hand in lukewarm water, never in a dishwasher, and dry with a soft cloth to protect the gold.
Delivery from Japan
Each cup is wrapped and nested in its wooden box, boxed again with padding and shipped insured and tracked by EMS or an equivalent express service. Import duties and taxes, where applicable, are payable on arrival. Every sale is final; please ask anything you wish to know before you buy, and see our published policy.
Considered offers are welcome through Send an Offer, and each one is reviewed personally. Further pieces of the kind are kept in Shunga and Hidden Arts and in our Kutani collection.
Concierge
Building a collection of Kutani or of shunga for the table? Our Hunting Salon™ locates such pieces across Japan's private collector circles, then inspects, documents and delivers them to you. Begin a Hunting Salon™ request.
Collectors also search: Kutani shunga sakazuki · higa sake cup · erotic Japanese porcelain
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