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Occupied Japan Figural Porcelain Powder Box — Rococo Lady, Hand-Painted, 1945–1952 1 / 9

Occupied Japan Figural Porcelain Powder Box — Rococo Lady, Hand-Painted, 1945–1952

Original price was: $68.00.Current price is: $60.00. Only one available

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Mid-Century (1940s–1960s) Porcelain / Ceramic Excellent
HDRF-VR-0005
A charming hand-painted porcelain powder box from the Occupied Japan period (1945–1952), featuring a seated Rococo-style lady in vivid period dress. This two-piece vanity piece — figural lid and matching floral base — is in pristine condition with no chips, cracks, or paint loss of any kind. A remarkable survivor, perfect for the dresser, vanity, or curio cabinet.

Highlights

  • Authentic "Made in Occupied Japan" red stamp — dates the piece precisely to 1945–1952
  • Seated lady figure in 18th-century Rococo dress with yellow bonnet, burgundy bodice with gold lattice detail, and white skirt with blue pleated accents
  • Delicate hand-painted floral sprigs on lid and base — blue, pink, and yellow daisies with green leaves
  • Decorative pierced openwork detail around the figure's skirt
  • Gold trim at lid edge and base rim, bright and intact
  • Fine glazed porcelain, lightweight and fully glazed interior

Details

  • Dimensions: 5″ H × 4″ W × 4″ D
  • Material: Porcelain, hand-painted with gold accents
  • Origin: Japan (Occupied Japan period, 1945–1952)
  • Two pieces: figural lid + round bowl base

Condition

Pristine. No chips, cracks, hairlines, repairs, or wear. All painted detail is vivid and fully intact. Gold trim is bright with no rubbing or loss. Remarkable condition for a piece that is 75+ years old.
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Occupied Japan Figural Porcelain Powder Box — Rococo Lady, Hand-Painted, 1945–1952

1945 – 1952

Occupied Japan Export Porcelain, Figural Vanity Ware

Red-stamped "Made in Occupied Japan" on the base, dating this piece precisely to the Allied Occupation period of 1945–1952. Figural powder boxes were among the most ambitious decorative porcelain pieces produced for American export during this era. While simpler wares were produced in high volume, powder boxes with fully modeled figural lids required more complex mold-making and multi-stage hand-painting — making them less common survivors.

The seated Rococo lady reflects a fascinating cultural exchange: Japanese artisans adapting eighteenth-century European decorative forms for the American market, filtered through their own ceramic traditions. The Rococo revival style — with its pastoral figures, pastel palettes, and gold accents — was enormously popular in American home decor during the late 1940s and early 1950s, and Japanese workshops proved remarkably adept at producing these European-inspired forms at accessible prices.

The quality of hand-painting here is notably fine: two-tone shading on the bodice, individual floral sprigs, and pierced openwork around the skirt all indicate a workshop producing at the higher end of the Occupied Japan range. That this piece survives in pristine condition after more than seventy-five years — no chips, no paint loss, bright gold trim — speaks to decades of careful ownership.

Materials Slip-cast glazed porcelain, hand-painted polychrome decoration with gold trim, two-piece construction (figural lid and round bowl base)
Care Lift the lid by the figure's base, never the bonnet or arms. No water or chemical cleaners on the hand-painted decoration. Store the two pieces separately with soft fabric between them.
From the Research Archives
vintagerose.us Catalog No. HDRF-VR-0005 • April 2026

Specifications

Dimensions
4 × 4 × 5 in
Weight
1.0 lbs
SKU
HDRF-VR-0005

A Little Lady with a Story to Tell

She has been sitting patiently for more than seventy-five years — a tiny Rococo lady in her yellow bonnet and burgundy bodice, perched atop a porcelain powder box that once graced someone's vanity or dressing table. And she has been remarkably well cared for. Every brushstroke of paint, every touch of gold, every delicate hand-painted flower is as vivid today as the day a Japanese artisan finished her sometime between 1945 and 1952. That date range matters. The red stamp on the bottom — "Made in Occupied Japan" — places this piece squarely in one of the most fascinating chapters of 20th-century decorative arts. During the Allied occupation following World War II, Japanese manufacturers were required to mark their exports with this designation. The pieces produced during this brief seven-year window are now actively sought by collectors, and the mark itself has become a badge of historical significance.

The Details Up Close

The figural lid features a seated lady in 18th-century European dress — a style Japanese porcelain makers adapted beautifully from Rococo originals. She wears a yellow bonnet over grey curled hair, an orange bow at the neck, and a two-tone burgundy bodice with gold crosshatch lattice detail on the front. Her white skirt fans out with blue pleated accents, and her legs extend gracefully onto the lid surface. The intentional two-tone shading on the bodice — lighter burgundy transitioning to deeper tones — demonstrates the careful hand-painting that went into even these modest export pieces. Around the lady, the lid is adorned with hand-painted floral sprigs: cheerful little blue, pink, and yellow daisy-like flowers with green leaves, arranged in a ring. Delicate pierced openwork near the figure's skirt adds an extra touch of refinement. The round bowl base carries the same floral motif on its exterior, tying the two pieces together. Gold trim lines both the lid edge and the base rim. The interior is clean, white, and fully glazed — originally designed to hold loose face powder on a lady's dressing table, and equally suited today for rings, earrings, pins, or whatever small treasures you trust to a lady who has kept things safe for three-quarters of a century.

Details

  • Type: Figural porcelain powder box (lid + base)
  • Dimensions: 5″ H × 4″ W × 4″ D
  • Material: Porcelain, hand-painted with gold accents
  • Origin: Japan (Occupied Japan period, 1945–1952)
  • Mark: Red stamp "Made in Occupied Japan"
  • Construction: Two pieces — figural lid and round bowl base
  • SKU: HDRF-VR-0005

Condition

Pristine. No chips, cracks, hairlines, repairs, or paint wear of any kind. All hand-painted detail is vivid and fully intact — from the fine facial features to the smallest flower petal. Gold trim is bright with no rubbing or loss. The interior is clean and free of staining or crazing. This is exceptional condition for a piece that is 75+ years old and speaks to careful ownership over the decades.

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