Vintage Morimura Nippon Bowl with Artisan's Signature.

This fantastic double handled porcelain Nippon (Japanese) bowl was made sometime between 1891 and 1921.  Anything produced in Japan and exported to the United States after 1921 has a backstamp that says Japan, not Nippon.  The backstamp is clearly visible on the bottom of the bowl and is designated as the "Morimura Brothers green M in wreath, Van Patten's mark #47".  The bowl is superbly and entirely hand painted with shaded dark to light pink roses, rose buds, and many shades of leaves set against background color washes of light green, blue, lavender, and a bit of yellow.  Surprisingly, the gold gilding on the handles has minimal wear.  The double pierced fancy handles are unusual and accent the lovely scalloped rim of the bowl.  The gold gilding around the top edge of the bowl shows more wear, so the bowl was probably picked up by the sides more often than by the handles.  The collared bottom is also gilded with nice ring of gold.  What makes this bowl even more desirable is the artisan's signature, K. Saito, which is hand painted and visible just under the leaves on the left (click on smallest photo under the backstamp photo to see signature).  Painter's signatures on this type of Nippon are rare.  The exceptional painting by this artist clearly represents a traditional simplicity in design that the Japanese favored over the more complicated designs desired by westerners during this time frame. The bowl measures approx. 7.75 inches from outer edges of handle to handle, approx. 7.25 inches in diameter from rim to rim on the non-handled side, and approx. 1.75 inches in depth.   As far as I can determine, there is no loss of color.  There are no chips, no cracks, no hairlines, no repairs, no crazing, and no stains.  There is slight utensil wear to the inside of the bowl, in the very bottom area, that is barely visible.  This slight wear does not detract from the bowl's presentation at all.  The bowl is rated in "excellent" condition taking into consideration it's 90 to 100 or more years of age.