Baraset House offers a rare selection of 17th century Chinese Ming porcelain produced in Jingdezhen for the Japanese market.
Known as ko-sometsuke – ‘ko’ meaning ‘old’ and ‘sometsuke’ meaning ‘blue and white’ – these unique and characterful wares were mainly produced between 1620 and 1645 for the Japanese chanoyu (Tea Ceremony) and the accompanying kaiseki (formal Tea Ceremony meal) which required a number of specific utensils such as incense burners (koro), incense containers (kogo), charcoal & water pots, and mukozuke food dishes.
Ko-sometsuke porcelain 古染付け was manufactured entirely to suit the tastes and sensibilities of the Japanese Tea Masters who embraced the sense of wabi-sabi – a philosophy that encourages one to appreciate the beauty of imperfection ("wabi" meaning simplicity; "sabi" meaning the beauty that comes with age and time).
The height of this folk-art type production occurred under the Ming emperor Tianqi 天啓 (1621 to 1627), whose short-lived reign witnessed the production breakdown of the official Chinese kilns sparked by the death of the Wanli Emperor in 1620. A surge of Japanese tea ceremony orders placed through the unofficial kilns of Jingdezhen focused on the Japanese aesthetic which coveted the simple and spontaneous appearance of porcelain manufactured using poorly levigated clay, and roughly potted with imperfections such as the prized glaze-faults known as mushikui, or ‘moth eaten’ edges. Ko-sometsuke wares display a delightfully refreshing spontaneity of design that makes them unique in Chinese ceramic history.
This very short period of production resulted in some of the most characterful and inspired porcelain ever created.
Please contact us to discuss any of the pieces shown here.
For a selection of our past highlights, please visit our Sold Archive.
Ko-sometsuke, Jingdezhen kiln, Ming Dynasty, Tianqi era (1621-27)
A very finely painted and rare Ming Dynasty ko-sometsuke dish decorated in rich tones of underglaze cobalt blue with an allegorical scene of "Youth & Old Age" featuring an old woman sheltering a girl under a parasol, with an ancient gnarled and windblown pine in the background and a young pine growing at its base
Ko-sometsuke (Old Blue-and-White) made for the Japanese market
Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province, China
Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), 17th century - Tianqi period (1621-1627)
Measurements
19.0 cm diameter
Condition
Elegant, old kintsugi (gold) seal to a fine hairline at 5 o'clock. Minor mushikui.
Mark
Boldly marked on the base with spurious Chenghua mark reading "Made in the Era of Ch'eng-hua, 1465-1487)
The finely pottery circular dish extremely well painted with an allegorical scene of "Youth & Old Age" featuring an old woman in a finely drawn kimono sheltering a young beauty beneath a wide parasol, the old woman looking back; the young girl looking forward, behind them an ancient gnarled & windblown pine with a young pine growing at its base representative of the same theme, the rim encircled with a zigzag pattern, the reverse painted with a spurious and boldly drawn Chenghua mark. A rare and oft misunderstood pattern, erroneously described as a 'Romantic meeting' between lovers in Christie's The Peony Pavilion Collection catalogue.
Ko-sometsuke, Jingdezhen kiln, Ming Dynasty, Tianqi era (1621-27)
A very rare late Ming Dynasty ko-sometsuke bajohai equestrian wine stem cup, boldly painted in rich underglaze cobalt blue with 'Hats of Ming Dynasty Officials' including the Yishan Guan (winged shan hat) reserved for the Emperor, the Zhanjiao putou (spread-horn head cover) worn by civic officials at court assemblies, Wushamao (black gauze hat) worn by government officials, and the He Guan military helmet with flag & tassel
Ko-sometsuke (Old Blue-and-White) made for the Japanese market
Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province, China
Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), 17th century - Tianqi period (1621-1627)
Measurements
9.6 cm bowl diameter; 9.3 cm high
The goblet boldly painted in underglaze cobalt blue with 'Hats of Ming Dynasty Officials', including the Yishan Guan (winged shan hat) reserved for the Emperor, the Zhanjiao putou (spread-horn head cover) worn by civic officials at court assemblies, Wushamao (black gauze hat) worn by government officials, and the He Guan military helmet with flag & tassel.
Bajohai
A bajohai 馬上杯 is a traditional Japanese stemmed cup, often for sake or tea, designed with a long, easy-to-grip base for use by warriors while riding horseback, deriving its name from the Japanese words for "on horseback". These cups, used by samurai, feature an elevated bowl that prevents spills and allows for one-handed drinking on the move.
Storage
With formal tea ceremony storage, including an antique inscribed wooden storage box with outer furoshiki cloth wrap, ribbons, and inscribed label.
Ko-sometsuke, Jingdezhen kiln, Ming Dynasty, Tianqi (1621-27)
A very rare late Ming Dynasty ko-sometsuke deep dish vibrantly painted with a pair of fenghuang Sun-birds (phoenixes) encircling the Sun
Ko-sometsuke (Old Blue-and-White) made for the Japanese market
Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province, China
Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), 17th century
Tianqi period (1621-1627)
Measurements
21.0 cm diameter; 4.0 cm high
Description
According the ancient Chinese mythology, the God of Heaven Di Jun took Xi He as wife, and she gave birth to ten sons who grew up to become ten suns in the sky. Xi He is known in Chinese mythology as the Mother of the Sun.
In this story, her ten suns were like birds. They had wings and could flew across the sky bringing heat all over the land. The ten suns in the sky were disastrous for mankind because they brought too much heat. To save mankind, an archer named Hou Yi volunteered to shoot down the ten suns. Hou Yi managed to kill nine of the ten suns by shooting them down, but the last sun was only injured and lost its wings. It fell to the earth and had to hide itself for fear of being hunted down and killed by Hou Yi.
When this last sun went into hiding, the whole earth fell into complete darkness. To bring back daylight, the Immortal Phoenix volunteered to find the hiding sun. The Phoenix found the sun and nursed it back to health. However, the sun had lost its wings and could not return to the sky. So the Phoenix took the sun under its wings and flew it across the sky. With the help of the Phoenix, the sun rose again at dawn and set at dusk when the Phoenix brought it back down to its hiding place.
With a traditional tomobako storage box, inner cloths and ribbon.
Condition: Superb original condition. No restoration under UV light. Mushikui.
Ko-sometsuke, Jingdezhen kiln, Ming Dynasty, Tianqi - Chongzhen era (1621-44)
A rare Ming Dynasty ko-sometsuke kogo (incense container box) in the form of a byobu-bako (Japanese folding screen box) painted in rich tones of underglaze cobalt blue, the cover featuring a waterscape scene with a solitary scholar on a rocky shore by a bamboo hut
Ko-sometsuke (Old Blue-and-White) made for the Japanese market
Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province, China
Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), 17th century
Tianqi period (1621-1627) - Chongzhen period (1627-1644)
Measurements
5.7 cm high (inches); 5.5 cm long ( inches) ; 3.7 cm wide (inches)
Description
A Chinese porcelain blue and white ko-sometsuke incense container in the form of a byōbu-bako (Japanese folding screen box) painted in rich tones of underglaze cobalt blue, the cover featuring a waterscape scene with a solitary scholar on a rocky shore by a bamboo hut, each short side decorated with a large flowering hibiscus. One long side of the box painted in Seigaiha pattern (a traditional Japanese auspcious omens motif of 'Blue sea and waves'). The other long side decorated in a diamond lattice pattern.
A similarly-shaped folding-screen box incense container was highly ranked in the “Katamono Kogo sumo banzuke” published in 1855; a ranking list produced by tea ceremony Masters, merchants, and connoisseurs from Tokyo, Nagoya, Kyoto, Osaka, and Kanazawa. This chart, which rated legendary Kogo (small lidded containers for incense used in tea ceremonies) was the result of a friendly competitive vote amongst connoisseurs. Many of the Kogo on the list were produced in China for export to Japan and are considered today to be amongst the greatest treasures of tea ceremony implements.
With a traditional tomobako storage box, inner cloths and ribbon.
Condition
In excellent original condition. Minor mushikui, natural bubble bursts.
Ko-sometsuke, Jingdezhen kiln, Ming Dynasty, Tianqi era (1621-27)
AA rare Ming Dynasty ko-sometsuke Scholars dish painted in rich tones of underglaze cobalt blue, the centre decorated with two tablets reading "Bi deng gao ti / Writng reaches the highest rank" encircled by grouped calligraphy brushes
Ko-sometsuke (Old Blue-and-White) made for the Japanese market
Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province, China
Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), 17th century - Tianqi period (1621-1627)
Measurements
13.3 cm diameter
Condition
In excellent original condition.
The centre decorated with two tablets each containing two characters and reading bi deng gao ti, translated to 'Writing reaches the highest rank', reserved against a solid blue ground with horizontal lines likely representing tatami (reed) mats. The flat rim decorated with eight sets of calligraphy brushes, alternating between pairs and trios of brushes. The reverse loosely decorated with auspicious symbols. An almost identical dish illustrated in Huang Qinghua The Colourful East: Catalogue of the Special Exhition of Japanese Order for China in the late Ming Dynasty (Jiangxi Fine Arts Publishing House, 2018) p.195-6, no.27.
Storage
With a traditional tomobako storage box, inner cloths and ribbon.
Ko-sometsuke, Jingdezhen kiln, Ming Dynasty, 17th century
A very rare 17th century ko-sometsuke kogo (incense container box) modelled in the form of two partially folded and overlapping hand-fans, painted in rich tones of underglaze cobalt blue featuring a lakeside scene of a scholar on a rocky shore by a bamboo hut
Ko-sometsuke (Old Blue-and-White) made for the Japanese market
Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province, China
Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), 17th century
Measurements
7.5 cm long (inches); 6.5 cm wide ( inches) ; 3.5 cm high (inches)
Description
A Chinese porcelain blue and white ko-sometsuke incense container and cover in the form of two overlapping folding hand fans painted in deep tones of underglaze cobalt blue, the cover featuring a waterscape scene of a solitary scholar on a rocky shore by a bamboo hut.
Ko-Sometsuke, meaning "Old Blue and White" is the term used to describe Chinese blue and white porcelain made for the Japanese market during the late Ming Dynasty. Ko-sometsuke wares were produced from the Wanli period (1573-1620) to the Chongzhen period (1628-1644), with the main period of production being the Tianqi period (1621-27). The objects produced were made specifically for the Japanese market, with the shapes and the designs being tailored to the Japanese taste. The shapes created were often expressly made for the Japanese Kaiseki (Tea Ceremony meal) and included mukozuke (small food dishes), kōro (incense burners), and kōgō (small incense containers).
With a traditional Japanese storage box, inner cloths and ribbon.
Condition
In very good condition with minor flaking to the edge.
Ko-sometsuke, Jingdezhen kiln, Ming Dynasty, Tianqi - Chongzhen era (1621-44)
A very rare late Ming Dynasty ko-sometsuke dish painted with an oceanic scene of bats circling the Chinese island of the Immortals, called Mount Horai (in Japanese) / Penglai Isle (in Chinese)
Ko-sometsuke (Old Blue-and-White) made for the Japanese market
Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province, China
Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), 17th century
Tianqi period (1621-1627) - Chongzhen period (1627-1644)
Measurements
15.1 cm diameter; 2.7 cm high
Boldly painted in underglaze cobalt blue with a moonlit scene depicting a pair of bats in flight encircling the mythical island of Mount Horai / Penglai Island, one of the three sacred islands in the East China Sea, where immortals dwell. According to ancient Chinese legend, the Eight Immortals live in a golden Palace on Mount Penglai surrounded by bejewelled trees. On the Island of the Immortals, there is no winter, no agony, no famine - rice bowls and wine glasses perpetually re-fill and enchanted fruits offer eternal youth. Tradition holds that Xu Fu - a Chinese servant sent to find the mythical Island - found Japan instead and named Mount Fuji as Penglai. From the medieval period onwards, many Japanese people believed that Penglai was located on the island of Japan where Xu Fu originally landed. Others believed that Mount Horai is mere fantasy and called it Shinkiro, meaning mirage; "a vision of the intangible".
Condition
In very good unrestored condition with an original slip-glazed kiln flaw to the edge of the rim. Sand and kiln grit to the footrim.
Ko-sometsuke, Jingdezhen kiln, Ming Dynasty, Tianqi - Chongzhen era (1621-44)
A Ming Dynasty ko-sometsuke deep dish energetically painted with a pair of galloping horses, with a fort and flagpole in the distance beneath a moonlit landscape, unglazed base
Ko-sometsuke (Old Blue-and-White) made for the Japanese market
Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province, China
Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), 17th century
Tianqi period (1621-1627) - Chongzhen period (1627-1644)
Measurements
14.0 cm diameter; 4.0 cm high
Boldly painted in underglaze cobalt blue with a moonlit scene depicting a pair of horses galloping across a foreground indicated by a clump of grass, a hill and fort with flagpole in the distance.
An identical dish in The Butler Family collection - also with unusual unglazed base and footrim - and likely by the same hand as the present dish. Illustrated in Curtis, Julia 'Trade, Taste & Transformation: Jingdezhen Porcelain for Japan 1620-1645' (The China Institute) 2006, no. 54, p.78. Notably, the footrim and base of the dish both the present example and the Butler Family example are left unglazed - Julia Curtis notes in her 2006 publication Trade, Taste & Transformation: "both the foot and the slightly convex bottom are unglazed; it is highly unusual not to have a glazed bottom. The foot is hastily beveled, and coarse kiln grit adheres to the foot and the glaze outside the foot." (p.78).
Condition
In good original condition with a minor kiln flaw to the edge of the rim with small associated hairline extending from the rim. Expected mushikui to rim. Sand and kiln grit to the footrim.
Ko-sometsuke, Jingdezhen kiln, Ming Dynasty, Tianqi era (1621-27)
A superb and extremely rare Ming Dynasty ko-sometsuke kōro (censer or incense burner) modelled in the form of a recumbent Buddhist lion-dog with its mouth agape to exhaust smoke, decorated in underglaze cobalt blue, splashed with fukizumi (blown ink) on the body and seated atop a rectangular plinth decorated with precious lozenges
Ko-sometsuke (Old Blue-and-White) made for the Japanese market
Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province, China
Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), 17th century - Tianqi period (1621-1627)
Measurements
10.5 cm long (4.25 inches); 12 cm high (4.75 inches)
A superbly modelled Chinese porcelain blue and white ko-sometsuke kōro (incense burner) modelled as a recumbent Buddhist lion (shishi or foo-dog) splashed with fukizumi (blown-ink technique) on the body, the raised rectangular plinth form base painted on the long side in reverse technique with a flowerhead and scrolling branches on a blue ground, the ends with a precious double lozenge, all between double lines in underglaze blue.
An identical example in the Collection of The Asian Art Museum (San Francisco, USA). Another identical example formerly in the Collection of Dr. Cornelius Osgood (Professor at Yale University; author of "Blue-and-White Chinese Porcelain" pub.1956 ); and now with Marchant (London, UK).
With a traditional tomobako storage box, inner cloths and ribbon.
Condition
In superb original condition with no restoration under UV light.
Expected glaze flakes, mushikui, natural bubble bursts.
