Ewer with design of dragon, Satsuma ware

Ceramics were central to the Japan craze, and nomenclature for different types of Japanese pottery entered common parlance among American consumers. Satsuma was a province in southwestern Japan where manufacture of various ceramic types had long prospered, including the one called in the West “Satsuma”: a colorful and highly ornate pottery made from cream-colored earthenware to show off glazes showing fine craquelure, enamel, and gilt. First displayed en masse in the West at the 1867 Paris Exposition, gilded Satsuma ware became the best known of Japanese ceramic types. The Centennial popularized it in America, and thereafter a steady supply of pottery called by that name, ranging widely in quality and price, met a clamorous demand. (“JapanAmerica: Points of Contact, 1876–1970,” curated by Nancy E. Green and presented at the Johnson Museum August 27–December 18, 2016)