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Vintage Japanese Lustreware Fruit Bowl — Iridescent Mother-of-Pearl, Pierced Rim & Gilded Handles, 8.5″

$26.00 Only one available

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Mid-Century (1940s–1960s) Gilt, Porcelain / Ceramic Very Good
HDRK-VR-0050
Set this bowl where the light can find it, and it earns its keep before you've put a thing in it. The whole body is glazed in that mother-of-pearl lustre the mid-century Japanese potters did so well — a rainbow pearl shimmer that shifts from pink to gold to green as you move around it. A painted still life sits in the center: Bosc pears, red cherries, deep purple plums. The scalloped rim is pierced with little hearts and scrolls, and two gilded scroll handles catch the light at the sides. On a sideboard by a window, it does most of the decorating on its own.
  • Material: Iridescent lustreware porcelain
  • Size: 8.5 inches in diameter, round and footed
  • Surface: Opalescent mother-of-pearl lustre glaze over the whole body
  • Center: Transfer still life — Bosc pears, cherries, plums, green leaves
  • Rim: Embossed rococo scrollwork with reticulated heart-and-scroll cutouts and gold trim
  • Handles: Two open pierced scroll handles, heavily gilded
  • Mark: Hand-applied red "JAPAN" stamp on the base
  • Era: Mid-century, 1950s–60s
Condition: Very Good. No chips or cracks. The gold shows some softening on the raised handles and rim high points, right where you'd expect it after this many years. It displays beautifully.
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Vintage Japanese Lustreware Fruit Bowl — Iridescent Mother-of-Pearl, Pierced Rim & Gilded Handles, 8.5"

Mid-Century (1950s–60s)

Japanese Lustreware

Through the 1950s and '60s, Japanese potters shipped luminous lustreware to American homes by the crate — bowls, plates, and cabinet pieces finished in an opalescent mother-of-pearl glaze that shifts color in the light. This footed fruit bowl is a fine example: a molded rococo rim pierced with open hearts and scrolls, two heavily gilded scroll handles, and a painted still life of pears, cherries, and plums at the center. The base carries only a hand-applied red "JAPAN" stamp — country of origin rather than a maker's name, which is typical of the anonymous export ware of the period.

This piece comes from an estate assembled by a collector who moved south to North Carolina from Long Island, New York, someone with a genuine eye for Japanese ceramics. A bowl like this would have held a place on a sideboard or open shelf, kept less for what it carried than for the way it caught the light.

Materials Iridescent lustreware porcelain with a molded rococo rim, reticulated heart-and-scroll cutouts, and two heavily gilded scroll handles.
Care Hand-wash only with mild soap and a soft cloth; avoid abrasives, soaking, and the dishwasher, which dull lustre and gilding. Keep out of the microwave. Display away from direct sunlight to preserve the iridescent finish.
From the Research Archives
vintagerose.us Catalog No. HDRK-VR-0050 • July 2026

Specifications

Dimensions
8 × 8 × 6 in
Weight
2 lbs
SKU
HDRK-VR-0050
Some pieces you have to fill to appreciate. This one you just set down and let the light do the work. The entire bowl is finished in an iridescent mother-of-pearl lustre — the signature look of mid-century Japanese export ware — and it never quite holds still. Turn it toward a window and the surface runs from pink to gold to a soft sea-green. Put it near a candle and the whole thing seems to glow from underneath. It's the kind of shimmer that makes people pick a bowl up just to figure out how it's doing that. Look closer and there's plenty to hold your eye. The center carries a painted still life — two golden-brown Bosc pears, clusters of red cherries, plums in deep blue-purple, all tucked among green leaves. The scalloped rim is molded right into the porcelain with rococo scrollwork, then pierced through with open hearts and scrolls, so the edge reads almost like lace. Two open scroll handles rise at the sides, heavily gilded, with gold trim following the rim. There's a great deal of craft packed into 8.5 inches. The base wears a hand-applied red "JAPAN" stamp and nothing more — no maker, no factory. That single word puts it in the 1950s or '60s, when Japanese potters were sending shiploads of this luminous ware to American homes. This one came out of an estate assembled by a collector who moved south to North Carolina from Long Island, someone with a real eye for Japanese pieces. You can picture a bowl like this holding down a corner of the sideboard or catching the afternoon light on an open shelf, exactly the sort of thing a careful collector keeps around for the pleasure of looking at it.
  • Material: Iridescent lustreware porcelain
  • Size: 8.5 inches in diameter, round and footed
  • Surface: Opalescent mother-of-pearl lustre glaze over the whole body
  • Center: Transfer still life — Bosc pears, cherries, plums, green leaves
  • Rim: Embossed rococo scrollwork with reticulated heart-and-scroll cutouts and gold trim
  • Handles: Two open pierced scroll handles, heavily gilded
  • Mark: Hand-applied red "JAPAN" stamp on the base
  • Era: Mid-century, 1950s–60s
Condition: Very Good. No chips or cracks. The gold shows some softening on the raised handles and rim high points, consistent with its age and honest use. It displays beautifully.

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