Pair Japanese Satsuma Plates with Miniature Decoration by Kinkozan

A pair of satsuma ceramic plates made by Kinkozan studio circa 1880-1900s during the late Meiji Period. Each dish features miniature enamel decoration of two lively festival scenes within a cobalt blue border laced with gold scrolls ornamentation. The parades on each plate showcase two streams of characters going in opposite direction. Each individual, of different gender and age, is realistically painted with unique outfit, face, coiffure and accoutrement they may hold in their hands or carried on their shoulder. There are women in kimono, children holding banners, peasants carrying buckets (perhaps shell games) and actors in theatrical outfit and masks. The harmonious composition provides a snapshot of the life and people in Edo-Meiji time, no different than a photograph in that regards. Under the plate, it was glazed in cobalt blue. Each base is impressed with a four-character seal sign "Kinkozan Tsukuru". The glaze displays an overall even fine crackle. The workmanship is superb and can be catalogized as "miniature art" characterized by the painstaking details, often found in the workshop of Yabu Meizan and Seikozan.
The Kinkozan family established their pottery business first in 1645 and by the end of 19th century, it had become the largest studio producer of Satsuma ware. By the 1850s, Kinkozan Sobei (Kinkozan IV; 1824-84) started to export the wares to the west, particularly to America, together with the Kyoto manufacturer Taizan VIII. This continued and expanded under the leadership of Kinkozan V (1868-1927) until his death in 1927 when the studio closed. Although due to the large output from the studio and target of the markets, the quality varied considerably, Kinkozan did produce some of the best satsuma pieces from Meiji period.