Sumida Pottery – Daryle Lambert's Antiques and Collectibles Blog – Gift from the Japanese

Sumida - Thanks to Trocadero.com  

 

Sumida Pottery – Daryle Lambert's Antiques and Collectibles Blog – Gift from the Japanese




Over the years, I have on occasion made errors that may have cost me money. One of those errors was with the pottery called Sumida that was produced in Japan from 1895 to 1970. I am sure that you have seen pieces of Sumida, but like me you most likely thought it had very little value and passed on it. Now that I know that pieces of Sumida can bring hundreds, if not thousands of dollars, my opinion of it has changed dramatically.

If you don't know what Sumida is, try to picture this. First, the clay is usually matte and orange-red in color. The pieces have an almost primitive look with figures of animals or people attached to the outside of the item. The glaze can be orange, blue or green and there is a very heavy application of glaze on each piece. I have seen these items on a table full of flea market items many times and never gave them a second look. Never again.


What changed my mind? I attended the auction of Don Sohn's in Evansville, Indiana a few months ago. There were several pieces of Sumida that were going to be sold but I didn't even preview them. When I sat down and began waiting for the good items to come up for auction, they started selling the Sumida. The first piece brought over $500 and I told myself it must have really been something special. Then another piece sold at a similar price and I asked the man sitting to my right, “What is going on?” This continued with perhaps ten other pieces and at that point I knew it was time for me to study Sumida pottery.




Checking eBay for Sumida sales, I found that the first four in the completed section were: $885.50 figurine, $537 vase, $543.04 figurine and $525.99 vase. With numbers like that, I would suggest that you familiarize yourself with Sumida as quickly as you can. In fact, I am working with a gentleman who is just starting in our program and today he will be looking at two Sumida vases. If everything is right and the price isn't way out of line, they will be his first purchase.