Dish with design of mizuaoi and heron grass in stream

Object Details

• Artist

  Sakaida Kakiemon IX or X

• Description

  Large dish with wavy edge, three identations spaced below rim; wide flat unglazed footrim, four spur scars on base.

  Clay: white porcelain

  Glaze: clear, feldspathic

  Decoration: painted in cobalt blue under the glaze, outline and wash; outside, three groups of rocks and camellias, inside - clump of mizuaoi and heron grass in stream within curved panel, outside of which is a delicate karakusa textile design in outline alone.

  Marks: Yamato Meireki nen tsukuru in underglaze on base. Also 2-character mark recessed in footrim.

• Marks

  Yamato Meireki nen tsukuru in underglaze on base.

  Yamato Meireki nen tsukuru in underglaze on base.

• Inscriptions

  On the back is a six-character inscription naming the Meireki era (1655-1658), but this piece is close to two centuries later in date.

• Label

  The edges of this large thrown dish were pressed into irregular scallops to form the pond-like frame for clumps of dokudami and heron grass growing at the water's edge. Yet upon closer inspection the plants are seen to form the decoration on a flat summer fan, or uchiwa. The space around the uchiwa is filled by abstract floral motifs that suggest patterns on an indigo-dyed cotton summer kimono, or yukata. Both the decoration and the refreshing cool tone of the cobalt make this plate inviting for summer-time use. On the back is a six-character inscription naming the Meireki era (1655-1658), but this piece is close to two centuries later in date. The signatue "Saka kaki," written in cobalt within an impressed rectangular shape on the back, is the abbreviation for Sakaida Kakiemon, master of the Kakiemon workshop in the Nangawara district. A small number of dishes bearing this mark is known.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  The Arts of Japan (July 14, 2012 to January 13, 2013)

  Seasons: Arts of Japan (February 5, 2011 to January 13, 2013)

  Summer Whites: Japanese Porcelain (July 1, 1983 to March 15, 1984)

• Origin

  Kakiemon or Kama-no-tsuji kiln, Nangawara, Arita, Saga prefecture, Japan

• Credit Line

  Anonymous gift in memory of Dr. Harold P. Stern

• Type

  Vessel

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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• 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, 1860s, 1670s, 1660s

• Name

  Sakaida, Kakiemon

• Place

  Kama-no-tsuji kiln, Nangawara, Japan, Saga prefecture, Kakiemon, Arita

• Topic

  Water, Porcelain, Art, Arita ware, Edo period, Japan, (1600 - 1868), Japanese Art, Ceramics, Plants, Rivers

• Culture

  Japanese

• Object Type

  Vessels (containers)