Satsuma ware is a type of Japanese ceramic, originally made by Korean potters who emigrated to the Southern province of Satsuma around 1600. Although early Satsuma wares were made from dark and plainly decorated clays, the name of this style slowly became associated with ivory-coloured pieces with elaborate decoration. Using gold, coloured enamels and a crackled glaze, potters across Japan perfected the art of intricately detailed ornament. Westerners greatly admired the Satsuma wares displayed by Japan at the 1867 International Exposition in Paris and the Vienna International Exposition of 1873, provoking a great demand for these ceramics in Europe and America.
Satsuma decoration often includes patterns paired with idealised scenes of everyday life in Japan, painted in minute detail. This teapot is decorated with two scenes; one of figures in an interior setting and the other of figures in a snowy landscape.
