Katuni The Kantuni is it a bird or is it a region? This delightful Mykasa pattern has more interest than originally indicated. We miss so much when we do not understand the various designs and patterns.
News-Antique.com - May 18,2010 - Mykasa- an excellent Japanese porcelain company had a designer by the name of K. Fuyikake, design a pattern which he signed in script on the back of the large dinner plate, and they called this pattern Katuni Bird. The bird in the pattern of course is mythical and could be a phoenix bird. However Mykasa depicted the type of pattern that was prevalent on the porcelain that was produced originally in the early 1700’s in the village of Katuni, meaning nine valleys, where a very rich, high quality kaolin suitable for porcelain was discovered and production was begun with the assistance of the emperor of the area to aid his people to make a living. Prior to the discovery of the use of Kaolin for porcelain which made a smooth and sometimes translucent product which was highly suitable for Kings and wealthier people around the world, the use of pottery was the only product available. With the onslaught of porcelain and the Silk Road, the Chinese and Japanese people were able to sell many porcelain items to the French and English markets. The people of the area at that time produced the porcelain and instilled very rich colors, green, blues, yellows, purple and reds together in a pattern similar but different to Imari. Of course all their designs were hand painted and were rich in tradition and folk lore and spiritual symbols. This porcelain company continued until the late 1700’s and then for reasons unknown was dissolved. In the early 1800 production was once again in process with the people back to work at their task of producing high quality porcelain with very fork lore type artistic paintings done by hand. For those of us who are unfamiliar with Japanese lore, we assumed the bird was a Katuni, however with a little research we are able to understand that Mykasa named the birds after the village and area of porcelain and then the designer K. Fuyikake used the original flowers birds and bright colors to produce a wonderful design acceptable and delightful to the American market.
