Posted 4 years ago
kwqd
(1183 items)
I don't have much information about this set, as I have not received it, yet. It consists of two tea cups, two rice bowls, two spoons and two sets of hardwood chopsticks, all in the original box. It was very inexpensive.
My interest was peaked for several reasons. The word "Design" is misspelled as "Desings" on the lid. I did do a Google search in case there was a Desings store or importer and found nothing to suggest that there was/is, so think it is a misspelling. It is a set for a man and a woman as one cup is larger than the other. I have not seen a boxed set like this before. It is also very Wabi-sabi in nature as everything has the same theme except for the man's tea cup. If the colors and the inner glaze of the cups were not so similar, I might have guessed the plaid cup was added to make up for a lost or broken cup. The seller said, though, that they received this set brand new, as a gift, but never used it. Finally, the colors are really nice, hand painted and, though it is not obvious, the pieces are decorated on all sides, from what I can see.
The seller is not communicative, so I don't know if any of the pieces are marked on the bottom, what year it was gifted or anything else about it. All of the text on the box that I have been able to decipher just refers to it as a couple's set, cute design, etc. Nothing in the text I have been able to translate mentions the maker or geographic origin. Very interesting set.
Thanks for taking a look at my Japanese couples dining set fortapache, dav2no1, Kevin and Vynil33rpm!
What a beautiful set, the single tea leaf design is so calming & perfect
Thanks Thomas, Jerryboy and Jenni!
Interesting set. Leaves look more like Japanese Maple except they have 5 sections. Not tea leaves which are quite different. I'm thinking the set is from China. Repost when you receive it.
Thanks for your comment Congcu. That would be disappointing! I translated much of the printing on the box and UPC label using a Japanese to English translator and it recognized it as Japanese. I know that the written Japanese and Chinese are very similar, though. It should arrive tomorrow.
This set arrived and it is not as nice as I had hoped. First of all, none of the pieces, or the box, have a mark which denotes country of origin. All of the pieces have a small gold, oval-shaped, label on the bottoms that say "Desings from Japan" and the three symbols which are prominent on the cover of the box. If there is a spelling error, it is a very thorough one. The labels are so small that I had to use my jewelers loupe to read them. The quality is poor, as well, as there are holes in the glaze and a few dimples in the clay of some pieces. Viewed from the top, the pieces all look nice, but flaws show up when handling them. All of the pieces are thin and under sized, as well, except for the bowls which are thicker. The set may have been made in Taiwan or China, or it could have been made in Japan by a company with very poor quality control. I don't have a strong opinion on that, but would never use this set, as I don't trust the glaze, and will likely just donate it to GW or another thrift shop. Can't remember when I have made a worse buy.
Most likely not Japanese per my previous suspicions. It would be rare indeed to find a company in Japan with such poor quality control.