KUTANI PORCELAIN VS SATSUMA

KUTANI VS SATSUMA
If you are a Satsuma collector and someone lists an item as Satsuma that you definitely knowisn't Satsumajust from the picture, it is kind of aggervating. The same is true of a Kutani collector when we see something that is Kutani that says Satsuma. It would be the same for someone to advertise a car as a Chevrolet when it is a Ford. Okay, lets not gepare porcelain vs earthenware as geparing Fords to Chevrolets. How about Rolls Royce gepared to a Maserati. I can relate to that. We all know how the Rolls Royce was a hand made automobile that has been around for many years. The really old ones, and the ones made in a limited edition are very expensive...and so are the new Phantoms... but allot of the ones made in the 1960's and 1970's are very affordable and have few miles. BUT, you still wouldn't want them for a daily driver. Maserati, also a very expensive vehicle, very nice, very beautiful, and personally, I would rather have one than a Rolls. Go ahead and check out their website and you will see what I mean. The quality of Satsuma gepares to a Rolls Royce...The Kutani, like a Maserati. Both are beautiful and hand painted. Both are from Japan. BUT, one is more valuable than the other. What they are made out of is different. How they are decorated is different. One is made of brown clay the other is made from s very special type of stone. How they are fired is different.
DON'T BE FOOLED! Allot of items on okay say Satsuma, Satsuma Katuni, or something when it is really Kutani or Kutant-Type. I was asked to sell someone elses Satsuma on okay. Well, I am a country person that never even heard of Satsuma. So, since I had been in a type of business before that require allot of research, I did my research on Satsuma. I wrote a brief history and added it to my listings. BUT, I just wasn't really happy about calling these items Satsuma. I have friends that have authentic pieces, and these didn't look like it. Then I was handed a book on Occupied Japanese Collectibles and FOUND items like the ones I was listed. They are Kutani! I did more reasearch on Kutani, wrote a new brief history from the research and added it to the listings and removed the Satsuma history and replaced Satsuma with Katuni on the listings. I don't want to misrepresent myself and sell someone Satsuma when it is Kutani.
Kutani Porcelain is very beautiful...just as beattiful as Satsuma or any other finely-detailed Japanese collectibles. I am sure the Satsuma collectors will have a cow when they read that. TRUTHFULLY, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. An ordinary person that isn't wealthy and can't afford AUTHENTIC SATSUMA will be just as happy with Kutani any day. WHAT If YOU PAY HUNDREDS OF DOLLORS (OR THOUSANDS) FOR AN ANTIQUE SATSUMA VASE AND YOUR KIDS OR GRAND KIDS BREAK IT!!!??? Okay, if you pay $10-$25 (more or less) for a very beautiful Japanese Hand-Painted Kutani vase and it gets broken... would you be as upset? Maybe not, but maybe yes. Some Kutani pieces also sell for huge amounts. If you are a millionaire, you probably would prefer Satsuma as an investment (but look at all the expensive "BUY IT NOW" Satsuma on okay and see how many go unsold... some investment. I guess you will just have to keep it until the economy gets better! Kutani is just as valuable as Satsuma... just different material. Kutani is top line porcelain, just as "Satsuma" is top line earthen ware. Both are very collectable and valuable...expecially if you like it.
If you want to read some history about Kutani, just do a web seearch on Kutani Porcelain and you will get plenty. Or you can send me a message and I will be happy to send what I found out.
Historically, Kutani has been around for nearly as long as Satsuma... some pieces are just as valuble. It does seem like Satsuma collectors arrogantly portray Kutani as junk.... what if Kutani collectors called Satsuma junk... well, I think we know better than that! The thing is, people who collect Kutani, and know it isn't Satsuma even if someone lists it as such, usually are buying it because they like itnor maybe they prefer Kutani porcelain over Satsuma... not in hope that the economy will get better and their priceless Satsume will increase in value.
SO, in a nutshell! IF you are looking at Hand-Painted Japanese collectibles on okay or anywhere else, and it says it is Satsuma, but it looks like Kutani, it is definitely NOT Satsuma. If you pay a great price for Satsuma, and it arrives and it is white on the bottom and inside the item, the walls are fairly thin...then your item is probably not Satsuma. You boutht it from someone that might have thought it was Satsuma...maybe they were told it was Satsuma when they bought it. Or maybe the seller just was ignorant like I was in the beginning. Or MAYBE they use the word Satsuma thinking they could get more money... well, if they is what they did, shame on them! Look at the listings, look at the pictures...check out lmillerkc's items...these are the listings I put on. Earlier I was listing them as Satsuma because I didn't know better...now that I do, I appologise for listing them earlier as Satsuma... I changed the listing titles and the history in the listings. I don't want to misrepresent myself to my customers and I don't want ANY OF YOU okay BUYERS TO BE MISREPRESENTED! IF YOU ARE BUYING BECAUSE YOU LIKE WHAT THE ITEM LOOKS LIKE, maybe you don't care if it is Kutani or Satsuma....
IF you are listing hand-painted Japanese collectibles, make sure you list it with the correct title and information... if your item is elaborately detailed with very bright colors, the bottom and inside are white, it sounds like glass when you tap on it, walls are fairly thin, then make sure you say it is Kutani Porcelain not Satsuma! Saying an item is something that it is not is against okay rules. Using several key words that all mean different things, is against okay rules (for example "SATSUMA KUTANI, OR KUTANI SATSUMA" ). That way, whether you type in keywords for your search for either Kutani or Satsuma, that person's listings will show up. Why not just type in Japanese Hand Painted.... Oh, most of my listings say Japanese Hand Painted Kutani. So, whether you type in Japanese Hand Painted, Hand Painted, or Kutani you will get my listings.
If you want to respond to this guide, have any gements, I would be more than happy to hear from you!