Made in Japan Majolica-Style Octagonal Biscuit Jar with Raised Cherries, Leaves and Cane Bail Handle
A Made in Japan majolica-style biscuit jar: a cream, eight-sided earthenware jar with a round raised collar and domed lid, molded in relief with serrated green leaves and clusters of red cherries on orange-brown stems. On the lid are radiating leaves, a cherry cluster and a brown mushroom-shaped knob. A cane bail wrapped in brown rattan hooks onto two cream and brown button lugs. The base is glazed cream with a small black block-capital stamp reading MADE IN / JAPAN. Its maker is unidentified. That Made in Japan wording points to export ware made after 1921, when US customs stopped accepting Nippon as the country name.
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Japanese export biscuit jars
Japanese potteries made molded, hand-colored majolica-style biscuit jars with cane or wicker bail handles for export to Western markets. Japanese export pottery for the US was marked Nippon until 1921, when US customs began requiring Japan instead, so a Made in Japan stamp like this one means the jar was made after that change. The maker of this cherry and leaf mold has not been identified.
Cream eight-sided jar with raised cherries and a cane handle
This Made in Japan majolica-style cherry biscuit jar is a lidded pottery jar with an eight-sided (octagonal) body that tapers slightly toward the base, a flat shoulder and a round raised collar that holds a domed lid. The glaze is cream, a soft yellowish ivory, with molded decoration picked out in green, a bright spring green, and red, a deep cherry or plum red. Brown, a warm orange caramel brown, picks out the collar rim, knob and handle lugs. A bail handle wrapped in cane (rattan) arches over the top.
Body: the sides are molded in low relief with large serrated, fern-like leaves that wrap around the jar, with the leaf tops colored green and the veins left cream. On the front and back hang clusters of round cherries in red, each cluster on thin orange-brown stems gathered at a dark stem point; one side also has a black painted twig shape near the base. Lid: a low dome molded with radiating leaves in green and cream, a cluster of four or five red cherries with orange-brown stems on one side, and a mushroom-shaped knob glazed brown on top over a cream stem. Handle: two round button lugs on opposite sides of the shoulder, cream with brown caps, hold a bent cane bail tightly wrapped in glossy brown rattan along the top section, with bare cane ends looped around the lugs.
Underside: the base is glazed cream all over, with a broad raised outer ring and a smaller round foot ring at the center. Inside the center ring is a small black stamp in plain block capitals reading MADE IN JAPAN on two lines (MADE IN above JAPAN). No maker name, logo or pattern name appears. The glaze is finely crazed overall, and the inside of the lid is plain cream glaze inside a raised flange.
On this copy: the lid has been broken into several pieces and glued back together, with amber glue lines running across the underside and small chips missing along the flange (seen on 1 copy). On the lid top, the cracks show as thin dark lines. The body has overall crazing with light brown staining in the craze lines, a small chip on the collar, and dirt and rust-colored marks on the outer base ring. Its cane wrap is intact. Size was not measured; it is a medium jar, roughly as wide as a hand span.
- Form: Lidded biscuit jar or cookie jar with a bail handle
- Body shape: Eight-sided (octagonal), flat shoulder, round raised collar
- Glaze colors: Cream, a soft yellowish ivory; green, a bright spring green; red, a deep cherry or plum red; brown, a caramel orange brown
- Body decoration: Molded serrated leaves all around, red cherry clusters on front and back
- Lid: Low dome with molded leaves and a cherry cluster, brown mushroom-shaped knob
- Handle: Cane bail wrapped in brown rattan, fixed to two cream and brown button lugs
- Underside: Glazed cream with an outer ring and a center foot ring
- Marks: MADE IN JAPAN stamped in black block capitals, center of base
- Style: Majolica-style molded and hand-colored earthenware
- This copy: Lid broken and glued with small flange chips, overall crazing and staining, small collar chip; not measured
Base, center: MADE IN JAPAN
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About the Japan Majolica-Style Cherry Biscuit Jar
How do I date a biscuit jar stamped Made in Japan?
Japanese pottery sent to the US was marked Nippon until 1921, then Japan or Made in Japan. So this stamp means the jar was made after 1921. The mark alone does not narrow it to a decade.
What is a Japanese majolica biscuit jar?
It is a lidded earthenware jar for cookies or crackers, molded in relief and colored with glossy glazes in the style of majolica, often with a cane or wicker bail handle. Many were made in Japan for export.
Who made my cherry biscuit jar with the cane handle?
The base only says MADE IN JAPAN, with no maker name or logo. We have not matched this cherry and leaf mold to a maker yet.
Does a glued lid hurt the value of a biscuit jar?
Collectors pay less for pieces with breaks or glued repairs than for undamaged ones. This jar's lid is broken and glued, and we have no comparable sales to give a figure.