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An extremely fine and rare pair of 17th century Japanese moulded dishes (mukōzuke) in the form of peacocks, superbly and fluidly painted in rich tones of underglaze cobalt blue
Arita ware, Ai-Kakiemon type, Hizen province, Japan
Early Edo Period
circa 1660-80
An extraordinarily rare pair of moulded dishes (mukōzuke) in the form of peacocks, very finely and crisply moulded and raised on a tall foot, naturalistically decorated in very rich and varied tones of cobalt blue that appear to float in the velvety glaze.
The reverse is distinctively decorated with wheat grasses and flowering plants above a footrim border decorated with geometric overlapping waves.
These fine peacock dishes have individual lined bags and a blue presentation cushion, all fitted within an antique wooden storage box.
The mukōzuke are small dishes for serving an 'amuse-bouche' as part of the traditional Kaiseki meal which precedes the drinking of the ceremonial tea in the traditional Japanese Tea Ceremony.
Condition
Superb original condition; no damage or restoration.
One dish has an original piece of kiln grit within the glaze adhered to the lower section of a tail feather.
The other dish has a small original firing crack under the glaze.
Size 5 inches (12.8 cm) in length
A superb pair of 17th C peacock shaped mukōzuke dishes, Arita, Japan, c1660-80
Additional information
References:
A moulded dish by the same hand or workshop with similar rich, varied cobalt tones and showcasing an identical and distinctive reverse decoration of wheat grasses and flowering plants above a footrim border decorated with geometric overlapping waves, in the Shibata Collection at the Kyushu Ceramic Museum, illustrated in Complete Catalogue of Shibata Collection (2019), no.1094, dated 1660-70.
Another comparable dish, by the same hand or workshop with similar rich, varied cobalt tones moulded and naturalistically decorated in the form of a moth, showcasing similar reverse decoration, in the Shibata Collection at the Kyushu Ceramic Museum, illustrated in Complete Catalogue of Shibata Collection (2019), dated 1660-80.
Another, possibly by the same hand or workshop with similar rich, varied cobalt tones moulded and naturalistically decorated in the form of a fanned leaf, showcasing similar reverse decoration, in the Shibata Collection at the Kyushu Ceramic Museum, illustrated in Complete Catalogue of Shibata Collection (2019), no.1324, dated 1660-80.
A moulded porcelain peacock dish in The Collection of the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford' (Story Fund, 2003) categorized as Early Edo Period; Arita, 'dish in the shape of a peacock with fanned tail'.
A moulded porcelain crane dish in The Collection of Burghley House, Stamford categorized as Arita, 'mukosuke dish moulded and crisply carved in the form of a flying crane', illustrated in Lang, Gordon 'The Wrestling Boys' p.5, number 16.
Another moulded porcelain egret dish in The Collection of the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford' (Story Fund, 2003, EA1997.211) categorized as Early Edo Period; Arita circa 1650, 'dish in the form of an egret'.
Provenance:
with Robert McPherson Oriental Art (Friesland, Netherlands)
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BARASET HOUSE FINE ART
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