Maison Samson - Plate - Porcelain

At first glance, it is the reverse of a large porcelain dish in Aka-e Kutani style (red painting), characterized by its floral designs and hand-painted scroll motifs in red iron ink, highlighted with gold.

This type of piece and its signature generally date from the Meiji period (1868–1912), when production flourished and was widely exported to the West.

By examining the mark on the back, one recognizes the red signature used by the famous Maison Samson in Paris at the end of the 19th century.

This signature precisely corresponds to the mark of the renowned Samson Manufacture (Edmé Samson et Cie, based in Paris), here imitating an Asian signature.

The red rectangular motif in the form of a grid or pseudo-Chinese character, completed by the long curved line at the bottom, is a caricatured signature typical of the Samson workshop for marking its reproductions of porcelain from the East India Company and Asia in the “rose family” style.

This decoration flagrantly confirms that this is a splendid reproduction in the Kakiemon style (and not Kutani as the outer scrolls suggested), realized by the famous Samson Manufacture in Paris.

Analysis of the inspired model

The Kakiemon style: the composition on a very pure white background, the asymmetrical flowering branches in orange/coral (red iron) and bluish tones (reproducing the underglaze blue), as well as the presence of the large butterfly with a stylized design, are directly copied from 17th-century Arita Japanese porcelains (Kakiemon style), which deeply fascinated Europe.

Samson’s work: the Samson house excelled in reproducing these pieces to complete the collections of great 19th-century connoisseurs. The 21 cm dimension matches perfectly the classic size of a dessert plate or a small ceremonial dish."}