Baraset House presents a select inventory of Japanese porcelain produced in Arita during the Golden Age of early enamelled porcelain. The innovative milky-white porcelain featuring brilliant enamels fired in the muffle kilns of Hizen province on Kyushu Island became known as 'White Gold' to European nobility.
With the closure of the Chinese imperial kilns at Jingdezhen after the fall of the Ming dynasty in the first half of the 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 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 technique 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. To this day, these Japanese treasures exemplify dignified and simplistic elegance with their unique beauty and timeless design transcending through the ages.
Please contact us to discuss any of the pieces shown here.
For a selection of our past highlights, please visit our Japanese Porcelain Sold Archive.
Kakiemon style 'Matsushima Bay' fuji form dish, Arita kiln, circa 1670-90
An exquisite & very rare Arita Kakiemon style dish moulded in the form of Mount Fuji, finely enamelled in the Kakiemon style with a view likely of Matsushima Bay showcasing delicate pine and maple groves to the foreground, scattered momiji leaves, and two sailing ships on the horizon
Arita kiln, Uchiyama district, Kakiemon type, Hizen province, Japan Edo period, circa 1670-1690
Measurements
16.6 cm wide; 9.7cm long; 2.6 cm high
Condition
In superb original condition.
An exquisite late 17th-century Arita porcelain dish, beautifully molded as the iconic silhouette of Mount Fuji, melding ingenious sculptural form with the poetic, painterly elegance of the Kakiemon style.
The sculptural multi-peaked mountainous profile finely decorated with brilliant overglaze enamels, showcasing a minimalist, lyrical landscape. Vibrant iron-red, brilliant cobalt blue, and translucent green and yellow pigments compose a scene of stylized pine trees, autumn foliage, and distant ships, likely of Matsushima Bay, one of Japan's three celebrated locations of natural beauty. According to Oliver Impey "a highly stylized design of pine-covered islands and boats at sea....almost certainly represents the scenery of Matsushima Bay" a view also recorded on the famous circular lobed Kakiemon dish in the Collection of the Gardiner Museum (Toronto, Canada) G.10.3.31.
The reverse features a stout, unglazed mountain-form footrim revealing a smooth, highly-levigated white body. The footrim is meticulously wrapped in a continuous, hand-painted iron-red sayagata (key-fret) geometric border.
Kakiemon style 'phoenix & peony' dish, Arita kiln, circa 1670-90
A beautiful, fine & rare Arita Kakiemon style dish,
enamelled with a single ho-o bird in flight near a flowering winter peony issuing from shiba-gaki banded hedges (brushwood fence)
with scattered momiji leaves at the base
Arita kiln, Uchiyama district, Kakiemon type, Hizen province, Japan Edo period, circa 1670-1690
Measurements
21.5 cm diameter; 3.0 cm high
Condition
In very good original condition. Almost invisible 5mm hairline to the rim.
A large circular Kakiemon dish with shallow curving sides, potted in Arita with a well levigated white body and raised on a wide footrim, the reverse left in the white, the face enamelled with a single ho-o bird in flight near a flowering winter peony issuing from shiba-gaki banded hedges (brushwood fence) with scattered momiji leaves at the base. Interestingly the placement of the ho-o bird in this iconic early Kakiemon pattern varies considerably from dish to dish, giving the enameler more artistic license than in later Kakiemon style patterns. While the ho-o bird would more typically be the central motif, here the large winter peony appears to take the leading role.
For a similar example of the same pattern, see John Ayers, Oliver Impey and J. V. G. Mallet et. al, Porcelain for Palaces: The Fashion for Japan in Europe, 1650-1750 (London, 1990), p. 151, pl. 121.
The dish was famously copied by Meissen in the early eighteenth century.
Kakiemon 'firewood, sickle & hat dish', Nangawara kiln, circa 1680-1700
A sublime Kakiemon dish finely enamelled with 'Shiba-taba Kama-kasa' (Firewood, Sickle & Hat) design, representing a poetic longing for the life of one who lives quietly away from worldly concerns
Nangawara kiln, Kakiemon type, Hizen province, Japan
Edo period, Enpo era (1673-1681) - Genroku era (1688-1703)
circa 1680-1700
Measurements
18.4 cm diameter; 3.5 cm high
Condition
In excellent original condition.
The serene, asymmetrical placement of these elements represents a poetic longing for the life of one who lives quietly in nature away from worldly concerns. The design evokes an old man who has gone to the mountains to gather firewood, leaning against a bundle of brushwood and resting. This pattern also exists in Ai-Kakiemon (blue Kakiemon) which visually shows the figure of the old man. In this, the enamelled version, the Old Man is absent from the image, but the symbols speak on his behalf. A quietly poetic dish.
This design consists of three main elements that symbolize Japanese rural life and the aesthetics of seclusion:
Shiba-taba (Firewood Bundles): brushwood branches bundled together to be used as fuel.
Kama (Sickle): A curved tool used for cutting the firewood.
Kasa (Straw Hat): A woven hat used to shield one from the elements of Nature.
Kakiemon 'Red Dragon' dish, circa 1680-1700
A Kakiemon ‘Red Dragon’ dish depicting a pair of dragons highlighted by gilding and turquoise enamels chasing flaming jewels, the centre with a dynamic swirling phoenix medallion
Kakiemon type, Hizen province, Japan
Enpo (1673-1681) - Genroku (1688-1703)
circa 1680-1700
Measurements
14.5 cm diameter
Condition
In very good original condition with virtually no wear to the enamels. A very faint 2mm mark on the rim.
The Meissen 'Red Dragon' Pattern which became famous in the first half of the eighteenth century was based on a late seventeenth century Japanese original such as the present example. The European copies of this pattern were first adapted for the Paris merchant, Rudolph Lemaire, who infamously plotted to pass off the copies produced at Meissen as the far more costly and sought after Japanese original. Ultimately, the Lemaire plot was uncovered and the Meissen copies that he ordered were confiscated by Augustus the Strong, Elector of Saxony, entering the inventory of the Japanese Palace Collection. Several years later, Augustus reserved the 'Red Dragon' pattern for the sole use of the his Court and in 1734, his successor Augustus III, chose the ‘Red Dragon’ pattern to decorate the first Dresden court service of Meissen porcelain. An iconic pattern.
Ko-Kutani/Kakiemon 'egrets & crashing waves' dish, Arita kiln, circa 1670-1710
A very rare and highly unusual Arita moulded porcelain cloud-form dish superbly enamelled in a transitional ko-Kutani/Kakiemon style, featuring a pair of egrets wading through crashing waves and protected by a banded rock weir, the reverse with fruiting peach and pomegranate sprigs
Arita kiln, ko-Kutani/Kakiemon workshop, Hizen province, Japan
Edo period, Enpō (1673-1681) to Genroku era (1688-1703)
circa 1670-1710
Measurements
16.3 cm long x 10.5 cm wide x 2.5cm high
Condition
An elegant old kintsugi (gold lacquer) repair to a 4mm hairline. The exceptional enamels are in superb condition.
Masterfully painted in a brilliant five-colour overglaze enamel palette with gilt highlights, showcasing dynamic, expressionistic brushwork and depicting a dramatic wetland scene featuring a pair of egrets amidst a turbulent expanse of swirling blue and green whirlpools and crashing waves. The fluid energy of the water is brilliantly juxtaposed against a rigid, geometric ajiro-gaki rock-wall fence.
Model of a seated puppy, Arita kiln, circa 1670-1700
A very rare & characterful Arita porcelain model of a seated puppy, the white-glazed body enhanced with iron-red, black enamel & gilt patches its neck encircled by an iron-red collar with a gilded bell
Arita kiln, Uchiyama district, Hizen province, Japan
Edo period, Enpō (1673-1681) to Genroku (1688-1704)
circa 1670-1700
Measurements
14.5 cm high; 14.0 cm long; 8.5 cm wide
Condition
Very good condition overall. Minor repair to the edge of right ear, and wear to the gilding.
Sitting on his haunches, the plump body supported on splayed front paws with finely modelled claws, his head is raised in an alert begging position, with carefully moulded eyes, nose and mouth outlined in iron-red, and small floppy ears in a submissive position.
An identical model exists in the Museum of King Jan III's Palace at Wilanow, Poland. The Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden with an almost identical pair purchased by Augustus the Strong of Saxony, listed in the Johanneum Inventory of 1721.
Early ko-Kutani type shallow bowls, Arita kiln, circa 1648-1652
An extremely rare & dynamically executed pair of Early Enamelled Arita ko-Kutani type porcelain bowls, boldly enamelled with flowering chrysanthemum to the interior, and exquisitely painted with fine iron-red scrolling arabesques to the exterior
Arita kiln, Early Enamelled ko-Kutani type, Hizen province, Japan / Edo period, Keian era (1648-1652)
Measurements
13.2 cm diameter x 3.8 cm high
Condition
Bowl A: In excellent condition. Minor potters notch to interior foot rim.
Bowl B: In very good condition. Minor hairlines and one fleabite to the rim.
An extraordinarily rare pair of Arita wide tea bowls in the ko-Kutani style, strikingly capturing the transition of early Japanese porcelain art as it synthesized late-Ming dynasty design influences with a distinctively bold, native aesthetic.
Ko-Kutani 'moon rabbit dancing on waves' dish, Arita kiln, circa 1655-1760
A striking Early Enamelled Arita Ko-Kutani type cloud-form porcelain dish depicting a finely press-moulded
Moon Rabbit leaping over waves Nami ni Usagi
highlighted with gilding, beneath enamelled patterned clouds,
the reverse with scattered pine needles
Arita kiln, Ko Kutani type/early enamellers, Hizen province, Japan Edo period circa 1655-60
Measurements
12.2 cm long x 2.2 cm high
Condition
In very good original condition with virtually no wear to enamels on the front, some rubbing to gilding. Wear to pine needles and fuku mark on reverse.
The imagery of a white hare leaping over waves (Nami ni Usagi) is an auspicious motif highly regarded as a symbol of striding forward and conquering difficulties. The hare is frequently depicted mid-leap or "dancing" over the waves, embodying the idea of only moving forward and never taking steps back.
Ko-Kutani 'waves & plover' dish, Kusunokidani kiln, circa 1650
A rare Early Enamelled Arita ko-Kutani moulded porcelain dish showcasing Nami-Chidori (Waves & Plover design) depicting a steadfast Plover on a rocky outcrop amongst crashing waves, its mate circling above
Kusunokidani kiln, Early Enamelled ko-Kutani type,
Hizen province, Japan
Edo period, circa 1650
Mark
An underglaze cobalt blue 'fuku' mark within double square.
Measurements
12.2 cm long x 2.2 cm high
Condition
Very good condition for this very early & rare example, some very small areas to the inner rim edge where the glaze had pulled back during firing.
The central rectangular medallion features an offset, asymmetric coastal vignette finely painted against a bright-white porcelain ground featuring two minimalist, expressively brushed plovers (chidori) captured in motion. One bird is rendered in flight using deep manganese-purple and cobalt-blue enamel highlights, while the second stands poised on a nearby promontory, washed in a light yellow enamel. A dynamic expanse of cresting, stylized ocean waves (nami) occupies the foreground, detailed with iron-red concentric undulating linework. The shorebird stands on deep cobalt-blue rocky formations that emerge directly out of the roiling red surf.
Ko-Kutani 'floating circles' dish, Arita kiln, circa 1655-1660
A rare & quietly poetic Early Enamelled Arita Ko-Kutani type porcelain dish featuring two iron-red circular medallions and a single turquoise-green enamelled medallion enclosing a black-outlined bamboo grove, the restrained design quietly embracing the beauty of negative space
Arita kiln, Ko Kutani type or early enamellers workshop, Hizen province, Japan
Edo period c1655-60
Measurements
14.4 cm diameter
Condition
Very good with two almost invisible miniscule hairlines to the rim.
An exquisite, early ko-Kutani piece that masterfully utilizes negative space to create a subtle yet sophisticated aesthetic. The gentle dialogue between iron-red and emerald-green medallions offers a quiet resonance, perfectly balancing a striking confidence with poetic grace. The reverse with a single asymmetrically placed iron-red medallion, underglaze blue concentric rings, double square fuku mark.
Early Enamelled ko-Kutani 'wild geese & sandbar' dish, circa 1650
An Early Enamelled Arita Ko-Kutani porcelain dish depicting
Wild Geese and Reeds,
from the ancient Song Dynasty
'Wild Goose descending to Sandbar' design
Arita kiln, Early Enamelled ko-Kutani type,
Hizen province, Japan
Edo period, Joo era (1650-55)
Measurements
14.2 cm diameter; 2.5 cm high
Condition
Very good condition. A minuscule rim chip less than 1mm invisibly repaired. Minor scratches to blue enamel.
Superbly painted with a classical scene depicting a wild goose in flight above two geese standing amongst reeds on a sandbank; a beloved motif in Japan. The composition is very similar to a silk painting by Lu Ji (c1420-c1505) entitled 'Lu ding lai yan' ('Wild Geese Returning to Reedy Sandbank'). This theme of geese in late autumn on a lonely river bank heralds the coming of winter.
The underside decorated with turquoise-green symbolic objects and iron red tassels.
Early Enamelled Ko-Kutani 'goose kogo', circa 1650-60
A delightful and very rare Early Enamelled Ko-Kutani porcelain
bird form kōgō (incense container) in the shape of a goose, its alert head tilted upwards, with moulded wings crossed upon its back
Arita kiln, Early Enamelled ko-Kutani type
Hizen province, Japan
Edo period (mid-17th century)
circa 1650-60
Measurements
7.5 cm long x 4.0 cm wide x 5.5 cm high
Condition
In very good condition. Losses to the early enamels. Miniscule chips to the edge of base.
Incense containers were originally made for the Japanese tea ceremony to house blended aromatic ingredients. In Edo period Japan, the goose symbolized the arrival of autumn, and early 17th century enamelled models of geese incense containers are very rare. Bird form kōgōs can be found in the Kyushu Ceramic Museum and in the Collection of the Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art (Toronto).
With formal tea ceremony storage including a traditional Japanese wooden storage box, a fine silk shifuku cover for the kogo, and an outer furoshiki cloth wrap.
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 kiln, Hizen province, Japan
Edo period (late 17th century/early 18th century)
circa 1700
Measurements
The porcelain models measuring 14.5cm high (5-3/4 inches).
Condition
Cockerel Group A superb original condition.
Cockerel Group B in excellent original condition with only a small flake (less than 0.5cm) to the red enamel on cockerel’s comb.
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.
Another identical model of Arita Cockerel, Hen & Chick model in the Collection of Dr. Toshio Noda (Tokyo, Japan) and another in The Stichting Paleis Het Loo National Museum (Netherlands).
Kakiemon square bowl, Nagawara kiln, circa 1690-1710
An Arita Kakiemon square bowl, finely enamelled to the interior with Chrysanthemum and Camellia, the gently curved sides decorated in underglaze blue with folded pine needles
Nangawara-yama, Kakiemon type, Hizen province, Japan
Edo Period (late 17th-early 18th century)
Measurements
15 cm in diameter; 4.5 cm in height
Condition
In excellent original condition.
The white porcelain body of square form with gently curved sides, raised on a large circular footring, very finely painted in underglaze cobalt blue, and enamelled to the interior with delicate flowering branches of Chrysanthemum and Camillia in iron red, overglaze green, blue, yellow and black. The underside decorated with stylized folded pine needles - a very popular motif often used on the reverse of mid-17th century Ko-Kutani wares.
Marked to the base with a large neatly drawn underglaze blue two-character seal mark, identical seal marks found at the Nangawara kiln sites
Ruri Ko-Kutani 'brushwood fences' dish, Nakashirakawa Kiln, circa 1655-60
A very fine, rare and large Ai-Kutani dish from the historically important Nakashirakawa kiln, the surface covered in a soft ruri (lapis lazuli) glaze and superbly decorated with Yukiwa Shibagaki (snow-laden brushwood fences)
Nakashirakawa kiln, Ko-Kutani usu-ruri type, Arita ware,
Hizen province, Japan
Edo Period (mid-17th century), Meireki-Manji period
circa 1655-60
Measurements
21.5 cm diameter; 3.0 cm high
Condition
In excellent original condition. An original minor kiln flaw to the rim at 10 o'clock covered with original slip and ruri glaze.
The front surface covered in a velvety soft pale lapis lazuli blue glaze known as usu-ruri which creates a soft, dreamlike feel for this calming winter scene illustrating banded brushwood hedges heavily laden with snow in a frosty sky. This elegant dish was produced at the historically significant Nakashirakawa kiln site which recent research has revealed to be a crucial location for the development of ceramic innovation in Arita, particularly with their early experimentation of glazes and early overglaze enamels.
A pair of identical dishes, attributed to the Nakashirakawa kiln are found in the Toguri Museum of Art (Tokyo, Japan). Another identical dish, attributed to the Shimoshirakawa kiln is found at the Nezu Institute of Fine Arts (Tokyo, Japan). Another identical dish covered in soft, pale ruyi (lapis lazuli) glaze is found in the Shibata Collection at the Kyushu Ceramic Museum
Ai-Kakiemon tray, Nangawara Kakiemon kiln b, 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
Nangawara Kakiemon Kiln B, Ai-Kakiemon type, Hizen province, Japan
Edo Period, Enpō era (1673-1681)
circa 1670-80
Measurements
23.5cm long; 17.7cm wide; 3.5 cm high
Condition
In excellent original condition with no damages or restoration.
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.
Ai-Kutani mame-zara dish, Arita kiln, circa 1650-60
A Very Fine and Early Ai-Kutani moulded porcelain small dish (mame-sara) in the form of three young pine branches, painted in sumptuous cobalt blue tones with highlights picked out using ink-repel technique (sumi hajiki)
Ai-Kutani type, Arita, Hizen province, Japan
Edo period,
circa 1650-1660
Measurements
(10.7cm long by 7.2cm wide by 2.0cm high)
Condition
In good condition with two very small repaired flakes to the edge.
Extremely finely and delicately moulded three-tiered pine branch form on a high foot, gorgeously painted in rich and varied tones of cobalt blue in the naturalistic form of young pine tree branches, elegantly decorated using sumi hajiki technique (literally meaning "ink repel”) in which ink is applied under areas of cobalt; during firing, the ink burns off removing any overlying colour (Wilson 1995:118). The very high footrim encircled by a comb design in the Nabeshima taste. An identical example in the Shibata Collection (Kyushu Ceramic Museum, Japan).
Ai-Kutani mame-zara 'jar' dish, Arita kiln, circa 1660-70
A very rare, fine & iconic Arita Ai-Kutani type moulded tiny 'bean dish' (mame-zara) 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
Measurements
5.8 cm diameter; 4.9 cm high)
Condition
A beautiful and very fine form in perfect condition.
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-zara 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.
See 'A Complete Catalogue of the Shibata collection' for an almost identical dish, no.1865.
Ai-Kutani dish, Kusunokidani kiln, circa 1650-60
A very fine and early mid-17th century Ai-Kutani moulded dish, elegantly painted with a weeping willow tree superimposed upon overlapping folded paper (shikishi)
Kusunokidani kiln, Ai-Kutani type, Arita ware, Hizen province, Japan
Early Edo Period (mid-17th century)
circa 1650-60
Measurements
21.5 cm diameter; 2.2 cm high
Description
The moulded ten-lobed porcelain body of shallow circular form decorated with two shikishi (square paper used for painting or calligraphy) reserved against the blue-ground centre, a boldly painted weeping willow featured on the uppermost paper square; the turned-down corner of the shikishi conveying an air of elegant informality so greatly prized by the Japanese.
The reverse asymmetrically encircled with ginko leaves and a trailing vine. On the base is a fuku mark within a square cartouche. Three spur marks on the base where the dish rested on its sagger in the kiln.
This dish - a most refined and elegant example of the early so-called Ai-Kutani wares produced in Arita - is even more notable as it can be strongly attributed to the important early kiln of Kusunokidani which is now believed to be the kiln at which Kakiemon I (1586-1666) perfected his craft in the late 1640s and throughout the 1650s before establishing his own kiln (Old Kakiemon kiln B) at Nangawara sometime in the 1660s.
Identical sherds of this shikishi & willow design dish have been excavated at the Kusunokidani kiln site.
Pie-crust spiral moulded dish, Arita kiln circa 1670-90
An attractively moulded Arita dish with pie-crust rim and undulating cavetto, finely painted with a pair of egrets at the waters edge amongst bound rock weirs
Arita kiln, Ai-Kutani type, Hizen province, Japan
early Edo period (17th century)
circa 1670-90
Measurements
20.5cm diameter and 2.9cm hig
The finely potted white porcelain body of shallow circular form with a moulded pie-crust rim dressed in iron brown fuchi-beni rim glaze and a beautifully formed cavetto of undulating, spiralling form.
The interior is very finely and asymmetrically painted with a pair of egrets frolicking at the waters edge, amongst net-bound boulders and lapping waves. Bound rock baskets, used in Japanese as breakwaters or 'rock weirs' were often depicted in 17th century Japanese painting, and more rarely, in porcelain designs. Large leaves, single large flower head and a sole twisted blossom issue from amidst the rockwork, with scattered florets at the bases of the weirs.
An identical dish in the Shibata Collection at the Kyushu Ceramic Museum, illustrated in Complete Catalogue of Shibata Collection (2019), no.1599, dated 1670-90.
Tatsutagawa design, Arita kiln, circa 1660-80
An elegant blue and white Arita dish finely painted with Tatsutagawa design (Tatsuta River) depicting falling maple leaves and lapping waves on a meandering river beneath a cloudy sky with with highlights picked out using sumi hajiki (ink-repel technique)
Arita ware, Hizen province, Japan
Edo Period (17th century)
circa 1660-80
Measurements
19.4cm diameter and 3.0cm high
Condition
In excellent original condition.
The design is thought to represent the Tatsuta River, famous for the maple trees that were planted along its banks during the Edo period for the Chūgū-ji Temple at the advise of Shusei Fujimon, an ancient scholar of Japanese Classical literature. The hints of blue sky above the white reserved clouds showcase swirling winds picked out using sumi hajiki technique (literally meaning "ink repel”) in which ink is applied under areas of cobalt; during firing, the ink burns off removing any overlying colour.
A sublimely pleasing pattern.
The reverse encircled with scrolling karakusa. Four spur marks on the base where the dish rested on its sagger in the kiln.
Ai-Kakiemon Export ware dish, Nangawara kiln circa 1670
A very good Ai-Kakiemon style circular dish, decorated with a pair of ho-o birds (phoenixes) perched upon a rocky outcrop
Nangawara Kiln B, Ai-Kakiemon type, Hizen province, Japan
Edo period
circa 1670-80
A very good Japanese early Edo period Ai Kakiemon style dish, vividly decorated in underglaze cobalt blue with a pair of ho-o birds (phoenixes) perched upon a rocky outcrop amongst flowers and vines. The rim decorated with a scrolling bird and vine pattern.
The background displays an unusual number of stars in the sky: thirteen.
Made for export to Europe through the Dutch East India Company.
A similar example illustrated in Ko-Imari from the collection of Oliver Impey, (Barry Davies Oriental Art, London, 1997), pp. 100-101, cat. 49.
Ko-Imari 'sweetfish' dish, Arita kiln, circa 1690
A charming 17th century Arita lobed dish,
boldly painted with a pair of dynamically circling sweetfish
Arita kiln, ko-Imari type, HIzen province, Japan
Edo period, circa 1690
Measuring 20 cm (7.87 inches) in diameter
Mark:
a cobalt blue Chenghua apocryphal six-character mark with a circle to the base
Of circular form with a lobed rinka rim, the interior very boldly painted with a strikingly contrasting and balanced pair of swimming sweetfish in fine underglaze cobalt blue showcasing strong tonal variations and spontaneous brushwork.
Chenghua spurious six-character mark with a circle to the base
The reverse decorated with a fine double-lined hana-karakusa scroll. Five spar marks and some kiln-grit adhering the the footring.
Ai-Kutani mame-zara dish, Arita kiln, circa 1660-70
A very fine and rare 17th century Arita moulded small dish (mame-zara) in the form of a sweetfish (ayu) amongst seaweeds
Ai-Kutani type, Arita kiln, Hizen province, Japan
early Edo period, Kanbun era (1660-1673)
circa 1660-1670
Measurements
11.0cm long; 7.5cm wide
Condition
An elegant kintsugi (gold) repair to the tail and no other damages.
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-zara 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.
Export Ewer, Chokichidani kiln, Arita circa 1665
A very well painted and exhibited Chokichidani kiln
Arita Export ware ewer of European form,
painted in the Chinese Transitional Style
with 'Scholars on a Terrace' design
Chokichidani kiln, Arita ware, HIzen province, Japan
Edo period, Kanbun era (1660-1673), circa 1665
Measurements
21.3 cm high
Condition
In perfect original condition.
Exhibition History
The Tonbodama Art Museum Exhibition (1996). Illustrated p.63 cat. 60.
This ovoid-shpaed export wine ewer - with its form based on German stoneware, its distinctively Japanese spreading takefushi (bamboo-noded) foot, its bold painting adopted directly from the Chinese Transitional style of the late Ming Dynasty, and pierced loop handle destined for European silver-mounts - stands as a testament to the highly active trade-routes of the 17th century. Created in Japan, of European shape, painted in the Chinese style and ordered by the Dutch East India company for shipment to Amsterdam; this piece is truly representative of historical trade and cross-cultural influence.
The straight neck painted with a band of foliage, the sides painted in fine underglaze cobalt blue tones with a continuous scene of scholars conversing in a terraced garden among willow, pine and a waterfall, flowering sprays of lotus to the neck, moulded circles around the foot, with some kiln-grit adhering to the outside and inside of the foot. The loop handle pierced, but unmounted.
See Impey, Oliver. Catalogue of the Collection of the Ashmolean Museum (2002). Impey illustrates is a fragmentary ewer dating to 1666 found at Chokichidani kiln site, identical to the present ewer.
A nearly identical ewer in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, Story Fund EA2000.4, also attributed to workshops at the Chokichdani kiln.
see Jorg, Christian. Fine & Curious: Japanese Export Porcelain in Dutch Collections, p.49, cat. 178.
Export Ewer Chokichidani kiln, Arita circa 1655-60
A very large Japanese Arita export jug of German stoneware form, made in Arita for export by the Dutch East India Company, painted in the Chinese Transitional Style with 'Scholars in the Wilderness'
Chokichidani kiln, Arita, Hizen province, Japan
early Edo period, Kanbun era (1660-1673)
circa 1655-60
Measurements
24.8 cm high
Condition
In excellent original condition.
Description
The oviform ewer of German stoneware (beer jug/bier-krug/Bellarmine) form decorated in underglaze blue in the Chinese Transitional style, with waisted neck decorated with upright Dutch tulips, the applied C-shaped pierced loop handle decorated with diagonal geometrical patterns.
The impressively-sized bulbous body superbly and energetically painted with groups of Scholars in the Wildness, watching the falling leaves and surrounded by pine trees, maples and rockwork.
The pierced handle was made to be fitted with a silver-mount after imporation in Europe - for an example, see a similarly shaped vessel with contempory Dutch silver mounts in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 2002.447.44. Another similar example, slightly smaller and without mounts, in The British Museum and dated to 1655-60.
Sherds bearing this stylized Transitional decoration have only been found at the Chokichidani kiln.
Export Ewer of Eastern form, Arita circa 1670-90
A very fine Arita Export ware jug of Eastern metalwork form,
finely painted with 'Courting Couple on a Terrace' design
Arita, Hizen province, Japan
early Edo period
circa 1670-90
Measurements
19.0 cm high
Condition
In very good original condition. An original potters notch to the underside of the footrim. A hairline-craze in the glaze near the spout - this is a superficial glaze flaw and does not penetrate into the porcelain.
Description
The shape of this finely potted Japanese porcelain ewer can be traced back through Yuan dynasty porcelain to near Eastern metalwork. The slender flaring upright spout attached to the neck by a delicate S-shaped strut, the pear-shaped bulbous body superbly decorated with male and female courting figures on a terrace with bamboo and pine and scrolling clouds overhead.
The same 'Courting couple on a Terrace' design is also found on the Arita Export ecuelle and cover, currently in our Collection.
The scrolling loop handle pierced for European silver mounts.
Similar examples can be found in the Shibata Collection and the British Museum.
Japanese Export, European Form, Arita kiln, circa 1660-80
An attractivd Arita Export ware bowl & cover
of European form known as 'ecuelle' (broth bowl & cover)
decorated in the Chinese Transitional style
with 'Courting Couple on a Terrace' design
made for export to Europe by the Dutch East India Company (VOC)
Arita kiln, Hizen province, Japan
Edo period, Kanbun/Enpo Era (1661-1681)
circa 1660-80
Measuring 17cm in width
Condition
The lid in excellent original condition with only a small flake to the edge of a leaf on the knop. The body with a 2.5cm hairline running down from the lip.
Decorated in in the Transitional style, in underglaze cobalt blue with Chinese male and female figures in front of a fenced terrace amongst rockwork, bamboo and pine trees, the low domed cover similarly decorated with a crisply modelled finial in the form of a fruit spray.
A superb example of 17th century trade, this piece beautifully demonstrates cross-cultural style: taking its shape from a European metalwork original, it's decoration from a Chinese Transitional period design, and it's materials and artistry from Japan, on order to the Dutch East India Company to be shipped out of Japan and sold a noble family in Europe.
For a similar example, without the cover, see Soame Jenyns, 'Japanese Porcelain' (London 1965) no. 21a(ii) (from the collection of Mr & Mrs Soame Jenyns).
