A very fine and rare Arita Kakiemon nigoshide bowl enamelled in bright blue and vermillion red-orange with circular, asymmetrically-placed leaf medallions depicting cherry blossoms, flowering peony and fruiting peaches
 
Nangawara kiln, Kakiemon workshop, Hizen province, Japan
Edo period, Enpo era (1673-1681)
circa 1670-80
 
MEASUREMENTS
8.5 cm diameter; 5.0 cm high
 
CONDITION
In superb original condition.
 
DESCRIPTION
The masterfully executed vessel amalgamates the fundamental characteristics of prime period Kakiemon at its zenith. The bowl is thrown from a highly refined nigoshide body yielding a stark, milky-white translucent surface, brilliantly acting as a blank canvas to elevate the clarity of the striking enamels and the use of negative space. Four roundels that appear to float and move around the exterior wall of the vessel offer an elegant combination of soft blue enamel blossoms and fruiting peaches nested within dense, flowing layers of overglaze iron-red (persimmon-orange) foliage. As one rotates the bowl, the asymmetrical placement of the organic roundels reveals a dramatic shift in compositional weight, a defining trait of true Kakiemon masterworks. This strategic implementation of Ma (Negative Space) focuses attention on the purity, texture, and natural lustre of the white porcelain body.
 
Peering directly down into the well of the vessel reveals a concise, centrally anchored design in which the interior floor is decorated with a singular, centrally aligned circular medallion inside which rests a small stylized floral emblem (a variant of a kiku or plum blossom motif) executed in crisp overglaze iron-red linework. The inner walls are left completely undecorated, pulling the viewer’s eye straight down to the precise linework in the centre and reinforcing the minimalist, painterly aesthetic characteristic of the Kakiemon kiln workshop.
 
The base of the exterior is bound by a pair of concentric, parallel horizontal lines and a zigzag pattern painted in iron-red directly above a finely turned foot rim.
 
STORAGE
With a traditional Japanese paulownia wood tomobako storage box and silk ribbon.