ABC Wednesday L is for Lithophane

My father travelled extensively during his time in the Royal Navy, visiting parts of the world which were later forbidden to Westerners for many decades. From a voyage to the Far East before the Second World War he brought back tea and coffee sets for my mother. They were made from fragile eggshell china and hand-painted with Japanese scenes of water, trees and houses, junk-rigged sailing boats and bridges. As a child I loved to study these delicate paintings.

The most fascinating items were the cups. As each cup was held up to the light an image of a geisha's face appeared in the base. The likeness was seen clearly only when lit from behind.

This geisha has a flower in her hair.

This geisha is directing her gaze forward. The fact that there are two depictions of geishas leads me to believe that my father bought two different sets - or picked up a mixed lot. I wish I could ask him!

Recognising the appeal they held for me my mother promised the sets to me and packed them, carefully wrapped, into a large box and told me she would keep them until I had a home of my own. I subsequently married a soldier and we didn't have our own home for several years, relying on the army to provide us with quarters. Through the years I occasionally thought about these beautiful sets and wondered what had happened to them. They were rediscovered when we cleared my parents' home. I was delighted to see them again.

Assuming you're right-handed this is the front of the tea pot - or is it a coffee pot?

 . . . and this is the back! Japanese children are all expected to be right-handed. Even if they are natural left-handers they must change to their right hand for calligraphy otherwise they cannot produce neat work - or so I was told by the left-handed mother of a left-handed child many years ago.

A cursory glance gives the impression that they are all the same but each piece is unique. Sometimes the differences are slight – two boats rather than three, or a bridge of another design. Mount Fuji features in the background of each item.

I did some research and discovered that this moulded artwork is called lithophane and is created in very thin translucent porcelain. It represents a three-dimensional image and is particularly effective when used in a window where the image changes throughout the day according to the sunlight.
Many historians believe that the first lithophanes were created in China during the Tang Dynasty (618 – 907 AD) They were also produced throughout Europe from the 18^th century through to the early 20^th century.
I also discovered that by the end of 1930 all Japanese potteries started producing lithophanes on tea cups and sake cups. Bizarrely this resurgence was linked with the first emergence of tea bags. The popularity of lithophane continued after WWII during the Occupation of Japan (1945 – 1952) Many lithophane pieces were taken back to the USA by American troops. The production declined until it almost stopped in the 50s.
After our late lunch on Easter Sunday we drank coffee and tea from my favourite cups. My pieces have no backstamp, no signature, no identifying mark to note who made them. (Indeed, they may well have been produced in China!) The handles on the tea and coffee pots are quite 'heavy' and somewhat crude but it is not the pottery I love so much, apart from the cups and saucers, as the illustrations on it. I know they have little monetary value but for me they are priceless treasures to be loved and appreciated for their mystery and history and absolute loveliness.

Now this is a coffee pot . . . or is it for hot chocolate?

Thanks go to Denise Nesbitt and her team for organising and hosting this meme. What have other people chosen for their Ls this week? Click here to find out.