An extremely rare & dynamic pair of Early Enamelled Arita ko-Kutani type porcelain tea bowls, vibrantly enamelled with flowering chrysanthemum to the interior, and exquisitely painted with fine iron-red scrolling arabesques to the exterior

Arita kiln, Early Enamelled ware, Ko Kutani type, Hizen province, Japan Edo period, Keian era (1648-1652)

circa 1648-50

MARK

Each with an iron-red three-character mark to the base.

MEASUREMENTS

13.2 cm diameter x 3.8 cm high

CONDITION

Bowl A: In excellent original condition. Minor notch to the interior of the foot rim.

Bowl B: In very good original condition. Minor hairlines extending from the rim. One fleabite to the rim.

DESCRIPTION

An extraordinarily rare pair of Arita shallow tea bowls in the ko-Kutani style, beautifully capturing the transition of early Japanese porcelain art as it synthesized late-Ming dynasty design influences with a distinctively bold, native aesthetic.

The interior features a strikingly asymmetrical, painterly composition of wild chrysanthemums executed in rich overglaze iron-red enamels, contrasted vibrant turquoise-green foliage. The dynamic, sweeping branches break the boundary of the porcelain edge with a spontaneous energy; when placed side-by-side the organically undulating branches join together creating a dynamic, infinite link between the two bowls.

The exterior is adorned with an exquisitely painted, fluid border of iron-red arabesques (karakusa). The reverse center of the bowls bear an abbreviated, handwritten three-character apocryphal mark reading "Da Ming Cheng" (大明成), a classic mid-17th-century Japanese tribute honoring the prestige of the Chinese Ming Chenghua imperial kilns.