Dragonware, Lithopane, and Moriage

One dragonware tea pot in Suzanne's collection. Picture taken on 1-6-2010.

DRAGONWARE:

Dragonware are items where moriage has been applied to wares to resemble dragons.  This was done mainly on items made from the late 1800′s to the mid-1900′s.  I certainly don’t think mine are that old!  All of Suzanne’s dragonware are teapots, creamers, and sugar bowls and are all in sets.  Some are quite elaborate and the decorators must have had quite a skill and imagination.

This piece of Dragonware is kind of an opelescent color...Very beautiful set! Picture taken 1-6-2010.

MORIAGE:

The Japanese artisans were notorious for their extensive use of moriage, also known as slip.  There were different ways to apply the slip to the items they were making.  One was to draw a pattern on to or transfer the pattern to the item then apply the slip in layers or trail it on.  That technique is called slip trailing and it is kind of like you would apply cake decoration.  Another way is to take partially dried clay and hand roll or carve it into a shape and apply it to the ware.  They also poured liquid slip into molds and apply it to the item after it sets up.

This creamer is a good example of Dragonware with the application of moriage. Part of a really nice set. Picture taken on 1-6-2010.

This picture shows the lithopane in the bottom of a Sake cup. Picture taken on 1-6-2010.

LITHOPANE:

Lithopane refers to the picture made in the bottoms of cups, typically Sake and tea cups.  The face in the bottom of the cups can easily bee seen if you hold them up to a light, and are typically the faces of women.  In the 1930′s almost all Japanese ceramic and Kutani kilns were making cups with lithopanes and it also had some connection with the use of tea bags.   Kutani with lithopane were generally made for export to the U.S. market and were popular with U.S. soldiers who brought them back home during the occupation of Japan.   Making lithopane was fairly expensive and time consuming, and production basically stopped after the early 1960′s.