How should I clean dirty Satsuma pottery?

Don't wash these pieces in water. The porous earthenware body absorbs moisture through the crackle glaze. This can cause the painted enamels to flake off or discolour the clay beneath. Dust them lightly with a soft brush. A specialist conservator should handle heavy grime or darkened crazing.

What are the marks on the bottom?

Most base marks identify the decorating studio rather than the kiln that fired the blank body. The circular cross crest above the signature belongs to the Shimazu clan.

I have a pair of large vases with people painted all over them, but some faces look slightly raised while others are flat, why is that?

Decorators used different techniques depending on the effect they wanted. The raised figures are built up using thick overglaze enamels. These sit proudly on the surface and create a tactile finish. Flat areas rely on thinner washes or different mineral pigments. Iron red often sits closer to the glaze level than the thicker white enamels. Mixing these textures gave the scenes a sense of depth. It wasn't a fast process. The painter had to understand how each pigment would behave in the muffle kiln.

My grandmother always told me that her tea set was made specifically for the Japanese emperor, but is it actually likely to be a domestic piece?

Most Antique Satsuma was produced for the export market. Western buyers favoured the dense gilding and elaborate scenes. These designs aren't typical of Japanese domestic tastes of the period. Tea sets with handles and matching saucers are a European form. Japanese kilns adopted these shapes to sell to foreign merchants. The set was designed for a Western drawing room rather than domestic use.

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Antique Satsuma from the 19th Century

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Antique Satsuma is a distinctive Japanese earthenware characterised by a warm ivory ground, a fine crackle glaze, and elaborate overglaze enamels overlaid with gold, primarily produced for Western export during the Meiji period.