Kutani style dish, Arita ware

Object Details

• Description

  Clay: white porcelain

  Glaze: milky white, thick, uneven

  Decoration: overglaze enamels; "tortoise shell" on rim with each scale framing an auspicious object; bird in landscape in octagonal frame in center; floral scrolls outside.

  Mark: in center of base, square, black pigment under green enamel, not read.

• Marks

  On base, black on green square, inside double ring drawn in cobalt.

• Label

  This is one of a series of large Kutani-style dishes with bird-and-flower motifs related to Chinese painting. The Kutani style of porcelain decoration, using green, yellow, and purple enamels, takes its name from a village in Kaga Province and formerly was thought to have been made there. Recent archaeological excavations and scientific study have shown, however, that Kutani-style porcelain was made at kilns in Arita, Hizen Province. Scholars disagree on the extent of such production in Kutani itself.

• Provenance

  To 1967

  Mayuyama & Co., Ltd.., Tokyo, Japan. [1]

  From 1967

  Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Mayuyama & Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan. [2]

  Notes:

  [1] Curatorial Remark 1 in the object record.

  [2] See note 1.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Cornucopia: Ceramics of Southern Japan (December 19, 2009 to January 9, 2011)

  Japanese Arts in the Edo Period: 1615-1868, part 2 (March 8 to October 19, 2008)

  Landscapes in Japanese Art (February 2 to July 15, 2007)

  Japanese Arts in the Edo Period: 1615-1868, part 1 (August 18, 2007 to February 24, 2008)

  The Idea of China in Japan: The Tea Ceremony in Japan (December 19, 1999 to June 11, 2000)

  Japanese Art (May 9, 1993 to August 1, 1994)

  Varieties of 17th-Century Arita Porcelain (November 7, 1986 to July 19, 1988)

  Japanese Ceramics (June 22, 1982 to September 27, 1982)

  Japanese Ceramics (April 11, 1978 to January 17, 1980)

  Birds and Flowers of the Four Seasons in Japanese Art (September 14, 1977 to April 8, 1978)

  Japanese Ukiyo-e Painting (May 2, 1973 to July 1, 1974)

  Japanese Art—Paintings, Pottery (August 18, 1967 to September 20, 1971)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Mayuyama & Co., Ltd. (established 1916)

• Origin

  Yambeta kiln group, Arita, Saga prefecture, Japan

• Credit Line

  Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment

• Type

  Vessel

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

  There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.

  The information presented on this website may be revised and updated at any time as ongoing research progresses or as otherwise warranted. Pending any such revisions and updates, information on this site may be incomplete or inaccurate or may contain typographical errors. Neither the Smithsonian nor its regents, officers, employees, or agents make any representations about the accuracy, reliability, completeness, or timeliness of the information on the site. Use this site and the information provided on it subject to your own judgment. The National Museum of Asian Art welcomes information that would augment or clarify the ownership history of objects in their collections.

Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1700s, 1710s, 1720s, 1770s, 1780s, 1790s, 1730s, 1740s, 1750s, 1760s, 1800s, 1810s, 1820s, 1830s, 1610s, 1650s, 1640s, 1630s, 1620s, 1690s, 1840s, 1680s, 1850s, 1670s, 1860s, 1660s

• Name

  Mayuyama & Co., Ltd.

• Place

  Japan, Saga prefecture, Yambeta kiln group, Arita

• Topic

  Landscapes, Porcelain, Art, Animals, Edo period, Japan, (1600 - 1868), Japanese Art, Birds, Arita ware, Kutani type, Ceramics, Flowers

• Culture

  Japanese

• Object Type

  Vessels (containers)