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Japanese Porcelain

Baraset House offers a superb collection of Japanese porcelain produced in Arita during the Golden Age of early enamelled porcelain. The brilliant milky-white porcelain produced on Kyushu Island was known as 'White Gold' to European nobility and aristocrats - after the closure of the majority of kilns at Jingdezhen due to the dynasty change from Ming to Qing in the mid-17th century, the Dutch East India Company turned to Japan to fill its large orders of porcelain being shipped to the ruling houses of Europe.

The European obsession with Chinese & Japanese porcelain during the 17th and 18th centuries cannot be overstated - countless royals and nobles of Western Europe suffered a maladie de porcelaine; the most fanatical being King Augustus The Strong of Saxony who was famously known for trading an entire regiment of his Saxon Dragoon Guards for a group of coveted porcelain pieces.

By the fall of the Chinese Ming dynasty in 1644, a system of stylized overglaze enamelling on milk-white porcelain began developing in Arita which has been credited to the Kakiemon family -  these pieces created a sensation when they began to appear in Europe in the mid to late seventeenth century.

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Early Enamelled Figures, Kakiemon, Arita, circa 1665

A very early and rare pair of 17th century Kakiemon figures of bijin (Japanese courtesans) wearing uchikake (outer garment) enamelled in the Kakiemon style with kichō panels (Curtains of State) and sylized falling leaves

 

Arita, Kakiemon style, Hizen province, Japan

Early Edo period, Kanbun Era (1661-1673)

c1660-70

14.5 cm high x 6 cm wide across the base

Provenance: 

Christie’s (London) ‘Japanese Works of Art’, 6 & 7 March 1989, lot 321 "A pair of Kakiemon models of bijin" (see final two images for Christie's auction catalogue and lot 321 coloured illustration of the present pair of Kakiemon bijin figures).

Possibly two of the “310 small statuettes” shipped to Holland in 1665 aboard the Nieuwenhoven out of the cargo of the Amerongen from Japan to Batavia.

Literature:

See Christie's (London) "Japanese Works of Art" 7 & 8 March 1989, lot 321, for the present pair with colour illustration.

 

For an almost identical pair, see Oliver Impey & Christian Jorg "Dragons, Tigers and Bamboo: Japanese Porcelain and Its Impact in Europe; The MacDonald Collection" (The Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art, 2009), for an almost identical pair of bijin, museum number G05.12.25.1 and G05.12.25.2.

The standing courtesans are modelled wearing the uchikake robe (formal outer garment with no sash) over several luxuriant layers of najajuban (underkimonos) which are decorated in the very early Kakiemon palette of iron-red, green, blue and black enamels.

The large and flowing uchikake robe with draped sleeves is sparingly decorated with stylized maple leaves and rectangular panels known as kichō panels (Curtains of State), which depict room dividers that were used to shield court ladies from the eyes of men. In notable contrast to these privacy panels depicted on the back of their robes, the bijin are modelled coquettishly lifting the front of their outer garments to reveal the kosode (inner kimono) underneath, and to give the viewer a tantalizing glimpse of their delicate feet.

Pair of rare and early enamelled Kakiemon figures of bijin circa 1665
Pair of rare and early enamelled Kakiemon figures of bijin circa 1665
Pair of rare and early enamelled Kakiemon figures of bijin circa 1665
Pair of rare and early enamelled Kakiemon figures of bijin circa 1665
Christie's 1989 lot 321 Kakiemon figures of bijin
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Ko-Kutani leaf moulded dish, Arita kiln, circa 1650

An extremely rare mid 17th century Early Enamelled (iroe) Arita Ko-Kutani type non-biscuit (namagake) porcelain dish enamelled with a single deer at the edge of a forest with its gaze turned towards the sunset, the reverse superbly modelled as a leaf with naturalistic veining and footrim formed as a twisted twig

 

Arita kiln, Early Enamelled ware, Ko Kutani type or an early enamellers workshop, Hizen province, Japan
early Edo period (mid 17th century)

circa 1650

Measuring 16.4 cm long by 3.4 cm high

 

Decorated with a lone male deer enamelled in deep aubergine with black outlining, beneath a curved tree enamelled in aubergine with green leaves at the forests edge, perched atop a deep yellow enamelled rocky cliff with green vegetation, the design featuring a superb asymmetrical use of blank space, epitomizing the Japanese Beauty of Emptiness (yohaku no bi). The reverse revealing an absolutely superb and naturalistically modelled rendition of the underside of a leaf, with the footrim in the form of a twisted twig.

An identical dish in the Shibata Collection at the Kyushu Ceramic Museum, illustrated in Complete Catalogue of Shibata Collection (2019), no.0425, dated 1650-60, catalogued as "Coloured deer leaf-shaped plate 1650s-1660s Length 16.2cm, width 12.4cm height 3.1cm".

Condition report:

In very good original condition with small original firing fault to the edge at 2 o'clock; two miniscule hairlines to the edge.

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Model of a kitsune (Guardian Fox), Arita kiln, early 18th century

An exceptionally fine and rare Arita porcelain model of a howling Japanese kitsune (Guardian Fox), a divine messenger of the goddess Inari (Shinto deity of prosperity and success), enamelled in black, iron-red, red wash, and turquoise green with gilt highlights,
Arita, Kakiemon style, Edo period, early 18th century

 

Arita kiln, Kakiemon related, Hizen province, Japan
Edo period (early 18th century)

Measuring 22.0cm high by 18.0cm long by 8.5cm wide

 

Powerfully and naturalistically modelled with sinuous twisting form, seated with upraised head turned to the right, ears pricked and mouth agape revealing teeth and tongue. The bushy tail and paws incised with realistic fur markings, the upturned tail terminating in a gilded hoshi no tama (spirit ball containing the soul of the kitsune). An iron-red collar with attached gilded bell modeled around the neck. Left forepaw protectively concealing a gilded jade-coloured treasure urn resting on the left hindpaw.

Note: Appears to be a previously unrecorded model. Of this model, there are at present no other recorded examples that have been found.

Condition

Generally very fine, original condition with an extensive original firing flaw leaving kiln debris & faults to mouth area and extending to right eye.

No restoration evident under UV light.

Flat pad bottom with textile imprint.

An exceptionally rare Arita model of a howling Inari Guardian fox (kitsune) Edo period early 18th ce
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Ko-Kutani bowl, Arita kiln, circa 1650

A mid 17th century Early Enamelled (iroe) Arita Ko-Kutani type non-biscuit (namagake) porcelain bowl vibrantly enamelled with a butterfly in flight amidst flowering peonies

Arita kiln, Early Enamelled ware, Ko Kutani type or an early enamellers workshop, Hizen province, Japan
early Edo period (mid 17th century)

circa 1650

Measuring 16.5 cm long by 4.5 cm high

 

Decorated with a butterfly in flight amidst flowering peonies in a vibrant palette of aubergine, rich emerald green, deep blue, dark yellow and opaque red with black outling, with a superb asymmetrical use of blank space, epitomizing the Japanese Beauty of Emptiness (yohaku no bi). The reverse undecorated.

 

The coloured palette is traditionally associated with the early enamelled wares of the town of Kutani. Though it was previously thought that this type of Japanese porcelain was made at the Old Kutani kilns in Enuma County, it is now accepted that this thinly potted shallow circular bowl was made in the middle of the 17th century in the Arita kilns. We can now call this type of early Japanese porcelain "Arita porcelain of Ko-Kutani type".

 

With a Japanese wood storage box and ribbon tie.

 

Condition

In perfect original condition with no damages or restoration.

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Ai-Kakiemon tray, Nangawara Kakiemon kiln b, Arita circa 1670-80

A majestic Ai-Kakiemon oval dish painted with Dragon & Pearl design, the vertical rim edged in fuchi-beni and highlighted with sumi-hajiki (ink repel technique) raised on a high foot, Nangawara Kakiemon Kiln B

 

Ai-Kakiemon type, Nangawara Kakiemon Kiln B, Arita ware, Hizen province, Japan

Edo Period (mid-17th century), Enpō period

circa 1670-80

Measuring 23.5cm diameter and 2.2cm high

 

A magnificent example of the technical and artistic perfection of the Prime Period blue and white Kakiemon, this gorgeous oval tray features the Cloud Dragon chasing the Flaming Pearl design, with the Dragon's undulating tail and body twisting up from crashing waves into the swirling clouds of the Heavens, his extended claw reaching out for the precious Flaming Pearl. The sharply moulded sides lavishly painted with dripping sumi-hajiki (ink-repel technique).

 

An identical dish titled as "The Waving Dragon Design Medium Plate" is illustrated in Kazuo Seki's Beauty of Prime Period Imari: selected works of under-glazed blue porcelain (Tokyo 1990), catalogue number 98, p.44 and p.84.

 

With a Japanese wood storage box and ribbon tie.

 

Condition

In excellent original condition with no damages or restoration.

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Early Enamelled Ko-Kutani dish, Arita circa 1650

A very rare mid 17th century Early Enamelled (iroe) Arita Ko-Kutani type non-biscuit (namagake) porcelain dish enamelled with a vibrant sprig of horse chestnut encirled by folded pine needes

 

Arita kiln, Early Enamelled ware, Ko Kutani type or an early enamellers workshop, Hizen province, Japan
early Edo period (mid 17th century)

circa 1650

Measuring 14.3cm diameter and 2.0cm high

 

Decorated with an asymmetrically placed sprig bearing a horse chestnut enamelled in brilliant green with internal sections of aubergine and yellow with black outlining, the leaves in green and deep yellow, the design featuring a superb asymmetrical use of blank space, epitomizing the Japanese Beauty of Emptiness (yohaku no bi). The rim enamelled with three folded pine needles in iron-red, green and black outlining.

The reverse with a central green enamel and black outlined

'Fuku' character mark, the reverse rim with three folded pine needles in iron-red, green and black outlining.

 

With a Japanese wood storage box and ribbon tie.

 

Condition

In very good condition with small kintsugi (gold lacquer) repair to the rim. Two miniscule hairlines noted on the rim (see images). 

The enamels in superb condition.

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Ko-Kutani ruri ginsai type, Arita kiln, circa 1655-60

An extremely rare and important Ko-Kutani suiteki water dropper in the form of an eggplant (aubergine), the surface covered in a rich lapis lazuli ruri glaze and enamelled with a landscape and pavillion scene in red enamel, gold and silver ginsai decoration

 

Ko-Kutani ruri ginsai type, Arita ware, Hizen province, Japan

Edo Period (mid-17th century), Meireki-Manji period

circa 1655-60

Measuring 7.5 cm in height by 7.5 cm in length

 

Of extraordinarily finely modelled naturalistic form, the substantially potted bulbous body in the form of an eggplant, covered with an extremely pleasing ruri blue ground (lapis lazuli) glaze, the body enamelled with gold, silver and red decoration depicting a hut on an rocky embankment surrounded by pine trees, the naturalistically moulded leaves of the eggplant picked out with gold and red enamel, the stem of the eggplant opening to an upwards-pointing mouth with a small pierced airhole nearby among the leaves. The base unglazed.

The form is likely derived from Chinese examples of the Ming dynasty, such as the eggplant water-dropper in The British Museum PDF B694 described as "Porcelain water-dropper in form of an aubergine with stem-shaped spout with relief leaves....Naturalistic details painted on the leaves and stem. Ming Dynasty circa 1590-1610".

In 1659, Zacharias Wagenaer, Principal of the Dutch East India Company in Japan, sent a small shipment back to the VOC Directors in Amsterdam comprising an assortment of Japanese porcelain of his own choosing. He wrote in his report of 10th December 1659: "....I had contracted with a certain person for about 200 pieces after my own invention, to be made curiously on a blue ground with small silver and gold tendrilwork" (T. Volker 1954, p.136). These blue ground pieces called ruri Kutani were among the earliest Japanese porcelains shipped to Europe, according to Dr. Oliver Impey. The striking early blue ground Arita wares are extraordinarily rare but examples do exist in the British Museum, the Groningen Museum, and Hampton Court (London, UK). No other known comparable Ko-Kutani examples of this eggplant calligraphy water dropper form have been found.

Condition report:

In perfect original condition with virtually no wear to the enamelling.

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Ai-Kakiemon Dish, Arita kiln, circa 1670-80

An extremely fine Ai-Kakiemon dish superbly and fluidly painted with falling snowflakes & winding mountain stream design

 

Ai-Kakiemon type, Arita ware, Hizen province, Japan

Edo Period (mid-17th century), Enpō period

circa 1670-80

Measuring 8 inches in diameter (21.5 cm);  0.85 inches in height (2.2 cm)

 

The very finely potted porcelain body of shallow circular form was produced during the pinnacle of the Prime Period of porcelain production in Arita. An outstanding example. 

An identical dish titled as "The Snow Flakes over Stream Design Medium Plate" is illustrated in Kazuo Seki's Beauty of Prime Period Imari: selected works of under-glazed blue porcelain (Tokyo 1990), catalogue number 121, p.49 and p.87.

An identical dish is in the Collection of The Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art (Toronto); Macdonald Collection of Japanese Porcelain (Toronto), museum number G20.9.5.

Condition report:

In very fine original condition with one tiny kintsugi repair to the rim edge at 12 o'clock.

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Kakiemon 'cut-out' Bowl, Arita kiln, circa 1680-1700

An extremely finely modelled and enamelled late 17th century Kakiemon cut-out bowl enamelled with a butterfly in flight above a trellis with winding grape vines

 

Arita kiln, Kakiemon type, Hizen province, Japan

Edo period, Genroku period (1688-1704)

circa 1680-1700

Measuring 13.5cm diameter and 5.5cm high.

Superbly enamelled in overglaze blue, green, yellow, iron-red, with extremely fine black outlining featuring a butterfly in flight delicately hovering over a trellis fence covered in winding, fruiting grape vines. This desigh showcases an exceptionally pleasing and calming use of blank space, epitomizing the Japanese Beauty of Emptiness (yohaku no bi). The reverse undecorated.

 

With a fitted paulownia wood storage box, silk wrapping and silk ribbons.

 

A magnificent and finely executed example of Prime Period Kakiemon Ware.

Condition report:

In excellent original condition.

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Enamelled Nigoshide Arita ware, Kakiemon, circa 1690-1710

A very fine & rare relief-moulded Kakiemon nigoshide porcelain serving dish brilliantly enamelled with The Three Friends of Winter (Pine, Prunus & Bamboo)

Kakiemon kiln, Arita, Hizen province, Japan,

Edo period, Genroku Era (1688-1703)/Hōei Era (1704-1711)

circa 1690-1710

Literature:

A pair of identical long dishes in The British Museum. In The British Museum Quarterly, The Kington Baker Bequest, volume 14, Soame Jenyns notes: "the bequest from the small but choice collection of the late Mr. Kington Baker has yielded several interesting pieces of Japanese porcelain to the Museum collections. In particular six pieces of porcelain decorated in polychrome enamels in the style of the potter Kakiemon....the elegant quatrefoil tray (PL XXI) shows a thick greasy white glaze....this is almost transparent and full of bubbles. The enamels if anything are even more brilliant, and they have been traced over a raised design of a fir-tree, prunus, and bamboo, amid rocks and clouds. It is difficult to date this piece with any security, but I should place it...possibly about 1700."

Oblong serving tray, or long dish, with fluted corners, the elegantly press-moulded nigoshide porcelain body with shallow relief-moulded decoration featuring a central large pine tree issuing from a Scholar’s Rock, its gnarled trunk extending upwards into a swirling bank of ruyi clouds, the cavetto also relief-moulded with blossoming prunus and bamboo amongst rockwork; the relief-moulding decorated in the Kakiemon style with polychrome enamels of iron-red, blue, turquoise, yellow and black with gilt highlights. The reverse undecorated.

 

Length 20.2 cm (8.3 inches)

Kakiemon nigoshide long plate circa 1690-1710 Three Friends of Winter
Kakiemon nigoshide long plate circa 1690-1710 Three Friends of Winter
Kakiemon nigoshide long plate circa 1690-1710 Three Friends of Winter
Kakiemon nigoshide long plate circa 1690-1710 Three Friends of Winter
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Pair of Cockerel Groups, Arita kiln, circa 1700

A rare pair of late 17th/early 18th century Arita porcelain models of Cockerel, Hen & Chick on a tree stump

Arita, figural Kakiemon type, Hizen province, Japan

Edo period (late 17th century/early 18th century)

circa 1700

The porcelain models measuring 14.5cm high (5-3/4 inches).

In superb original condition.

 

Each modelled with a large bushy tailed Bantam rooster with finely moulded feathers, picked out in black, green, red, aubergine and gilt enamels, a small hen roosting at his left side, a chick crouching beneath his right wing, all raised upon a moulded tree stump loosely and freely enamelled with splashes of black, green and aubergine washes. The porcelain Arita, Japan circa 1700.

 

An identical pair of Arita Cockerel, Hen & Chick models, mounted on French ormolu bases and with scrolling foliate-cast candle branches, sold Christie's (New York) auction 19031 'The Collector' October 8, 2020, lot 8.

 

An identical model of Arita Cockerel, Hen & Chick model in the Collection of Dr. Toshio Noda (Tokyo, Japan) illustrated p.109, figure 123. An identical model in The Stichting Paleis Het Loo National Museum (Netherlands).

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Ai-Kutani, Arita kiln, circa 1660-70

A very fine and rare 17th century Arita moulded small dish (mame-sara) in the form of a sweetfish (ayu) amongst seaweeds

 

Arita kiln, Ai-Kutani type, Hizen province, Japan

early Edo period, Kanbun era (1660-1673)

circa 1660-1670

The very finely moulded dish in the form of a leaping sweetfish (ayu) amongst seaweeds, painted in rich and vibrant tones of cobalt blue, the tail elegantly restored with kintsugi (gold), the reverse undecorated.

 

A very rare form with an exceptionally pleasing kintsugi restoration.

 

These small bean dishes, called mame-sara 豆皿 are revered in Japan; there is a love of the aesthetic beauty of small objects that fit into the palm of one’s hand.

 

Measurements:

11.0cm long; 7.5cm wide

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Ai-Kutani, Kusunokidani kiln, circa 1650-70

A very fine 17th century Ai-Kutani spiral moulded dish with pie-crust rim and sharply undulating cavetto, richly painted with a pair of deer climbing a rocky outcrop

 

Kusunokidani kiln, Ai-Kutani type, Arita, Hizen province, Japan

early Edo period (mid 17th century)

circa 1650-70

The very finely potted white porcelain body of shallow circular form with a sharply moulded pie crust rim dressed in iron brown fuchi-beni rim glaze with a superbly formed cavetto of undulating, spiralling form. The interior is boldly painted with an asymmetrical scene of a male and female deer climbing a rocky outcrop. Sanskrit characters encircling the well. The asymmetry of the design provides an excellent example of the Japanese aesthetic of The Beauty of Empty Space.

 

An unusual fuku mark to the reverse.

REFERENCES:

An identical dish in the Shibata Collection at the Kyushu Ceramic Museum, illustrated in Complete Catalogue of Shibata Collection (2019), no.0604, dated 1650-70, catalogued as "Sometsuke Iwashikamon Rinkasara Sometsuke Iwaka pattern ring flower plate 1650s-1670s" 

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Ai-Kutani, Arita kiln, circa 1660-70

A very rare, fine & iconic mid 17th century Arita Ai-Kutani type moulded tiny 'bean dish' (mame-sara) in the form of a jar, the interior sparsely decorated in underglaze cobalt blue with spring bracken tendrils and sprouting horsetail ferns, the reverse decorated with folded pine needles

Arita kiln, Ai-Kutani type, Hizen province, Japan

early Edo period, Kanbun era (1660-1673)

circa 1660-1670

(5.8 cm diameter; 4.9 cm high)

 

An iconic form of very early Japanese moulded porcelain in the shape of a storage jar, painted sparsely to the front in underglaze cobalt blue with spring bracken tendrils and sprouting horsetail ferns, the reverse decorated with folded pine needles. These small bean dishes, called mame-sara 豆皿 are revered in Japan; there is a love of the aesthetic beauty of small objects that fit snugly into the palm of one’s hand.

 

A beautiful and very fine form in perfect condition.

 

See 'A Complete Catalogue of the Shibata collection' for an almost identical dish, no.1865.