Kutani Shunga Sake Set, Two Tokkuri and Five Cups with Gilt Enamel Scenes, Wooden Box
Kutani Shunga Sake Set, Two Tokkuri and Five Cups with Gilt Enamel Scenes, 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 $35, 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
- Resplendent 8.4 of 10 ·
- Replies
- Within one Tokyo business day · Ask the curator team
- Guarantee
- Authenticity guaranteed · How we grade
| Figure | cm | in |
|---|---|---|
| Height | 12.5 cm | 4.9 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
Very Good
- Giftable
- Mint
- Excellent
- Very Good
- Good
- Honest Wear
- As Found
Seven Pieces, Seven Private Scenes
Each flask and cup carries its own scene, so the set is a little album in porcelain: lovers behind gilt screens, under paper lanterns and beside folding screens painted with cranes and waves. Inside, each cup keeps only a modest spray of gilt flowers, so the scenes reveal themselves as the cup is raised.
Best for: Collectors of Kutani enamels and higa erotic ceramics
Condition notes
Rank B. Light scuffs from storage, chiefly to the gilding; no notable damage, no chips or cracks are reported. Unmarked bases. Wooden box with lid present.
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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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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A Kutani sake set of seven pieces, two tokkuri flasks and five cups, each painted in gilt overglaze enamels with its own scene of lovers and kept in its wooden box.
This piece belongs to the private room of the house and is shown to adults only.
The Piece
Erotic ceramics, higa, were made for the private banquet. This set is painted in the kinsai iroe manner of Kutani, overglaze enamels heightened with gold, and in the e-gawari style, in which every piece carries a different picture. The flasks open with demure beauties seated beside gilt screens, writing boxes and baskets of brushes; turned in the hand, they show couples behind screens of cranes over waves and beneath paper lanterns.
The five cups continue the album. Lovers in gilt-flecked robes embrace before screens and hanging garments, drawn in fine iron red and black line, while inside each cup sits only a modest spray of gilt flowers, so the scenes reveal themselves as the cup is raised.
Details
- Set: Two tokkuri (sake flasks) and five sake cups
- Ware: Kutani porcelain, as named on the box
- Decoration: Overglaze enamels and gilding (kinsai iroe), each piece a different scene
- Tokkuri height: About 12.5 cm (4.9 in), read from the scale photograph
- Cup diameter: About 5.5 cm (2.2 in), read from the scale photograph
- Marks: Bases unmarked
- Box: Wooden storage box with lid, inscribed in ink
- Made in: Japan
Condition
- Light scuffs from storage, chiefly to the gilding.
- No chips or cracks are reported; no notable damage.
- Wooden box with some age wear.
Condition grade B (very good) on the Japanese scale; see Japanese condition ranks, explained.
Authenticity & Care
Offered as a vintage Kutani enamelled sake set; the painter and date are not recorded. Wash by hand only in lukewarm water and never rub the gilding.
Delivery from Japan
Each piece is wrapped separately, cushioned in its wooden box and double-boxed as fragile, then 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 ware collection.
Concierge
Hoping to add a matching tray or a larger set of higa cups? 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 sake set · higa sake cups · erotic tokkuri porcelain
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