My Dad was trained by Jim Smith - POT ID Help

[cgcourson]

Hey Everyone,
New to the forum. Quick History. Grew up in Melbourne FL, my dad, J Gillis Courson (Gil) was trained in Vero by Jim Smith. They became good friends, I remember hanging out at Jim's nursery as a child while Jim and my Dad worked. He was also a photojournalist for the Florida Today and shot photos of Jim's Trees. Would be crazy if anyone on here remembered my dad who passed in 2017. Anyway, was going through some of his stuff and trying to ID some pots. My oldest is going to Florida Institute of Technology next year and going to have to figure out how to come up with the remaining 35K/year not covered in scholarships. Are any of these pots valuable? I figure ones with Japan Stickers and "Japan" on them no, LOL, I know that they will not be worth 35K but clearing what I can out of the house. Can anyone help ID?

Thanks
Chris Courson

 

[treefu]

1a.jpg is Marufuji Production Seto. Not worth an awful lot. Better to love it for what it is rather than what it might be.
2a.jpg is also production ware suiban. Same as above in terms of value.
2b.jpg is probably the same as 1a.
3a.jpg is probably Chinese earthenware in origin. I can't see enough of the mark to clearly identify it. Same as above.
3b.jpg the same mark rotated.

The sale of these pots are probably not going to make a noticeable dent in those tuition fees. Sorry.

 

[rockm]

The first and last pots in the picture series may be something worth investigating further. Check out some of the pot ID sites around the web for the chop mark. If you're on Facebook, check out the Bonsai pot Identification group. The two in the middle look to be mass produced. Neither had drain holes originally--one still doesn't, but the other has been drilled by a third part.

 

[cgcourson]

1a.jpg is Marufuji Production Seto. Not worth an awful lot. Better to love it for what it is rather than what it might be.
2a.jpg is also production ware suiban. Same as above in terms of value.
2b.jpg is probably the same as 1a.
3a.jpg is probably Chinese earthenware in origin. I can't see enough of the mark to clearly identify it. Same as above.
3b.jpg the same mark rotated.

The sale of these pots are probably not going to make a noticeable dent in those tuition fees. Sorry.

LOL thanks! Thats exactly what I expected.

 

[cgcourson]

The first and last pots in the picture series may be something worth investigating further. Check out some of the pot ID sites around the web for the chop mark. If you're on Facebook, check out the Bonsai pot Identification group. The two in the middle look to be mass produced. Neither had drain holes originally--one still doesn't, but the other has been drilled by a third part.

Thank you so much for the suggestions and link!

 

[cgcourson]

Thank you so much for the suggestions and link!

I found the mark for the third one thanks to your link it is a Kaiyou Tokoname, Thank you http://www.tokoname.or.jp/bonsai/maker-e.htm

 

[cgcourson]

1a.jpg is Marufuji Production Seto. Not worth an awful lot. Better to love it for what it is rather than what it might be.
2a.jpg is also production ware suiban. Same as above in terms of value.
2b.jpg is probably the same as 1a.
3a.jpg is probably Chinese earthenware in origin. I can't see enough of the mark to clearly identify it. Same as above.
3b.jpg the same mark rotated.

The sale of these pots are probably not going to make a noticeable dent in those tuition fees. Sorry.

I found the mark for the third one thanks to rockm it is a Kaiyou Tokoname, Thank you http://www.tokoname.or.jp/bonsai/maker-e.htm

 

[treefu]

I found the mark for the third one thanks to your link it is a Kaiyou Tokoname, Thank you http://www.tokoname.or.jp/bonsai/maker-e.htm

Oh well done. Yes, I can see it now. That's worth a little more than the others then.

Here's a clearer mark for that maker, cropped from an image from Ryan Bell's site.

 

[rockm]

I found the mark for the third one thanks to rockm it is a Kaiyou Tokoname, Thank you http://www.tokoname.or.jp/bonsai/maker-e.htm

That's the grey rectangle, right? It's not earthenware. It's high fired ceramic. And I had a feeling it was older kiln Japanese.

Things can get very complicated with Japanese potters' names--I'd urge you to get on the FB bonsai pot ID page for more detail. FWIW, Tokoname is the town where the kiln is located-one of seven historic Japanese kilns that fire bonsai pots. Kaiyou is the potter. That pot is likely 1970's or 1980's vintage. Not worth a fortune, but certainly not junk. i'd guess a couple hundred to the right buyer, but I'm not an expert.

 

[cgcourson]

That's the grey rectangle, right? It's not earthenware. It's high fired ceramic. And I had a feeling it was older kiln Japanese.

Things can get very complicated with Japanese potters' names--I'd urge you to get on the FB bonsai pot ID page for more detail. FWIW, Tokoname is the town where the kiln is located-one of seven historic Japanese kilns that fire bonsai pots. Kaiyou is the potter. That pot is likely 1970's or 1980's vintage. Not worth a fortune, but certainly not junk. i'd guess a couple hundred to the right buyer, but I'm not an expert.

Yes the grey rectangle, I saw that facebook page so much to learn, thanks! I talked to my mom and she had she had tons more pots and some very old ones. We all use to do trees together as a kid (after seeing Karate Kid, lol) and she thought I may want get back into the art.

 

[rockm]

Yes the grey rectangle, I saw that facebook page so much to learn, thanks! I talked to my mom and she had she had tons more pots and some very old ones. We all use to do trees together as a kid (after seeing Karate Kid, lol) and she thought I may want get back into the art.

If your dad was working with Jim Smith, I'd bet there are some pretty nice pots in your mom's basement