A very fine, rare & large Kakiemon nigoshide porcelain serving bowl with elegantly cut-out scalloped sides, the interior masterfully enamelled with four sprays of Autumnal flowing plants, the exterior sides with four brilliantly executed blue enamel arabesque scrolls
Arita, Kakiemon kiln, Hizen province, Japan,
Edo period, Enpō period
circa 1680
Description
A remarkably large square serving bowl with scalloped cut-out sides, the elegantly formed nigoshi-de porcelain body exquisitely decorated in the Kakiemon style with polychrome enamels of iron-red, deep blue, turquoise green, and black. The reverse sides with superbly drawn blue enamel arabesque scrolls. While smaller versions of this form are documented in collection such as The British Museum and the Ashmolean Museum (Oxford), we can find no other recorded examples of this large and impressive scale. An extremely rare form in this size.
Measurements
19.0 cm long x 19.0 cm wide x 4.3 cm high
Condition
In very good condition with six tiny chips to the scalloped edges, each elegantly repaired with traditional kintsugi (gold) lacquer. The enamels and glaze in exceptional original condition.
Essay
This elegantly formed square serving bowl was produced using fine nigoshi-de (milky white) porcelain with a pearly white luminescent glaze. The nigoshi-de body is the whitest of all Japanese porcelain and was used for only the finest enamelled wares of this period. This 'milk white' body, composed of kaolin and petunste, achieved purity through a time-consuming process in which the Arita potters repeatedly levigated and washed the clay. Only open shapes (dishes, bowls) were made using the nigoshi-de body, and underglaze cobalt blue decoration was never used on this porcelain; only the finest overglaze enamelling sometimes highlighted by hints of gilding.
A very large, fine & rare Kakiemon nigoshide porcelain scallop-sided bowl, c1680
PRICE UPON REQUEST.
BARASET HOUSE FINE ART
416 666 6295
info@barasethouse.com
www.barasethouse.com
COMPARABLE EXAMPLES
A Kakiemon bowl of similar form but smaller size sold at Christie's (New York) An Important Collection of Japanese Porcelain, 15 September 1999, lot 32: "A Square Porcelain Bowl with Scalloped Sides, Arita Ware, Kakiemon Style, Edo Period (16.8 cm diameter)". Price Realized USD$32,200.00.
For a pair of much smaller dishes (9.5 cm diameter) of the same 'cut-out' scalloped sided form see John Ayers et al., Porcelain for Palaces: The Fashion for Japan in Europe 1650-1750 (London: Oriental Ceramic Society and British Museum, 1990), pl. 114, described as "small square saucer dishes with rounded corners and a deep triple scallop in each side; with circular foot".
The striking an highly artistic manner in which the floral sprays and overglaze blue arabesques are executed bears much in common with the Hexagonal "Iris Jar" and cover illustrated in John Ayers et al., Porcelain for Palaces: The Fashion for Japan in Europe 1650-1750 (London: Oriental Ceramic Society and British Museum, 1990), page 173, pl. 153, in which Ayers notes that "the finely drawn decoration in a strange palette of enamels makes this beautiful jar almost unique". A pair of Kakiemon bottle vases at the Rijksmuseum (Amsterdam) which were part of the Westendorp Bequest (1968) also demonstrate a closely related painterly style, particularly to the mistflower sprays which bear much in common with the floral sprays on the present scallop-sided bowl.