Geisha Lithophanes

If you ever find an image of a geisha at the bottom of your teacup, this is how it got there.

A few years ago, I was introduced to the fascinating world of hidden geisha lithophanes at the bottom of tea cups, and ever since, I have picked up any Oriental tea cup to see if the light shining through the base would reveal an image of a geisha. I eventually purchased a coffee set unseen and discovered the images on the base of the cups. It was such an exciting moment, it prompted a deeper look into their meaning. Was this purely for decoration, or was it a major advertising campaign to the West?

What is a lithophane?

To gain a deeper understanding of the Geisha lithophanes, we must first explore the fascinating world of lithophanes. In basic terms, lithophanes are images revealed by light. Going backwards from East to West, we can surmise that although lithophanes were produced in some European countries, such as England, France, and Germany, in the late 1820s, it was perhaps more the decorations hidden in paper-thin porcelain produced in China a thousand years earlier that inspired them.

How they are made

To make the images come to life, they were first carved into soft wax. The 3-D effects are achieved through the use of various thicknesses, allowing light to shine through. This incredibly time-consuming art was made into a plaster mould. This was the mould that was used to cast the very thin porcelain, which was then fired at extreme temperatures to create the lithophane. Most of the images never made it through the firing process because they were too delicate, but if you wanted light to reveal the picture, then this was the process.

The early European lithophanes were produced around the mid-1800s for fire screens, lanterns and night lights that would reveal the images when lit from behind. They also added them to the bottom of beer steins, tea cups and mugs. Famous companies like Wedgwood, Belleek and Meissen have all dabbled in lithophanes.

The geishas of Japan

Various clues point to the collectable porcelain made in Japan, with geisha lithophanes in the base of the cups, were made almost exclusively for the export market. The timing of the works – between the late 1930s and the early 1960s – included Occupied Japan (1945 – 1952). During that time, many servicemen would purchase the porcelain sets to take home with them. At least half of the sets would include Made in Occupied Japan’ on the base. Another clue is that a coffee set was not a usual type of porcelain made for locals, as their preference was for tea. Were the Japanese advertising their geishas to the West? I haven’t a clue, but it's fun to think about.

The type of porcelain that included many of the lithophanes was almost always referred to as Dragonware. This type of porcelain often features motifs of dragons as decoration, along with other traditional Japanese elements. What makes it specific is the way the items were decorated. Using a technique called moriage, raised designs were added to the pieces in a matte finish. Moriage is the art of ‘painting’ on glazed porcelain using different coloured slip (clay and water mix), like you would to ice a cake, but also with a very skilled technician.

This coffee set features all the elements of a traditional export set, including the moriage design, Dragonware style, and geisha lithophanes on the cups. SEE MORE

How to tell the real deal from the fakes

The geisha girl lithophanes are intriguing, and there will always be someone who will attempt to replicate them. The Chinese reproductions date back to around 1996. They can often be spotted because they would be too neat, too perfect. The brush strokes are precise within the outlines of the design, whereas this is certainly not the case in most of the originals. Many of the Japanese originals left white space as a design element, while the reproductions are often overly decorated, covering the entire surface. Another thing to look out for is too much gold, in perfect condition and too shiny. These are the general things to look out for, as the marks on the base are sometimes reproduced to be virtually identical to the original Japanese marks.

Although some geisha girl lithophanes were still produced in Japan until the 1980s, they were sparingly designed, with very little gold used.

Next time you find yourself looking for hidden ladies in porcelain, you will know that someone before you has done the same.