Dish depicting map of Japan

Object Details

• Description

  This rectangular porcelain dish with undulating rim bears a press-molded relief design of a map of Japan and surrounding lands, both actual and imaginary. The decorator used cobalt pigment to outline the provinces of Japan, write the province and country names, and fill the oceans with a rolling pattern of "octopus vinescrolls" (tako karakusa). The wave-like coils of the vinescrolls contrast particularly effectively with the angular outlines and relief texture of the map, and the marked bluish caste of the clear glaze sets off the deep blue of the cobalt. The back of the plate bears a different wave pattern, composed from linked curves and dots suggesting crests and foam, with eight wish-granting jewels floating in the troughs. In the center of the base appears a four-character Japanese date, "Tempo nensei (made in the Tempo era [1830-44])".

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Japanese Art from the Collection (October 26, 2024 - ongoing)

  Bountiful Waters: Aquatic Life in Japanese Art (March 8 to September 14, 2014)

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

• Origin

  Possibly Ohoyama kiln, Arita, Saga prefecture, Japan

• Credit Line

  Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment

• Type

  Vessel

• On View

  Freer West Corridor

• 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.

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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, 1840s, 1690s, 1680s, 1850s, 1670s, 1860s, 1660s

• Place

  Ohoyama kiln, Japan, Saga prefecture, Arita

• Topic

  Cobalt pigment, Porcelain, Art, Arita ware, Edo period, Japan, (1600 - 1868), Japanese Art, Ceramics

• Culture

  Japanese

• Object Type

  Vessels (containers)

• On View

  Yes