Antique Late Meiji Japanese Satsuma Kutani Eggshell Plates – Set of 9

So charming. Exquisite in detail. This is a beautiful and rare set of late Meiji or early 20th Century Kutani Satsuma dessert or tea dishes. These export plates from Japan were all the rage in Europe and America in the 1910s. Finding a set like this together is very rare. Usually you see one random dish here and there.

The dishes are made in the Kutani kilns — famous for eggshell porcelain — so they are strong but very thin to the point when held up to light they have translucence and you can see your hand on the other side (see image). The dishes have Satsuma Moriage design — or raised gold elements. The dishes are all hand painted and have slight differences between them. Then depict the scene of happy family – mother, father, son and daughter – on a gray background scene that depicts pink cherry blossom trees, pagodas a lake all in the shadow of Mount Fuji in the distance. 2 of the plates have one type of back stamp in gold over red, while the other 7 show the gold symbol for Nippon or Japan.