Dish with design of nightingale on blossoming prunus branch (from a set of five)

Object Details

• Artist

  Kitade Tojiro (1898-1968)

• Description

  Shallow wheel-thrown dish with gently rising rim, wide trimmed foot tapering inward on outside, straight on inside.

  Clay: porcelain.

  Glaze: smooth, clear, colorless glaze over entire surface except footrim.

  Decoration: in underglaze cobalt, on front, broad band around edge of rim; on back, narrower band and single line encircling foot, single line inside footrim. In polychrome and gold enamels, black cross-hatch lattice overlaying broad blue band, gold line inside band, central motif. On underside, red enamels lines to outside of blue band encircling foot, inside of blue line inside footrim.

  Mark: in red enamel, square mark "To" in center of base inside footrim.

• Marks

  Mark: in red enamel, square mark "T " in center of base inside footrim.

• Inscriptions

  The dishes are contained in a paulownia wood box inscribed by the artist. The inscription on the front of the box lid reads: (upper right) [?/] kacho zu ([??] bird and flower designs); (center) meimeizara (individual serving dishes). The box is signed on the back of the box lid: Tojiro [rectangular red seal: ??].

• Collection

  National Museum of Asian Art Collection

• Origin

  Kanazawa, Ishikawa prefecture, Japan

• Credit Line

  Gift of Sanae and Douglas Reeves

• Type

  Vessel

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1960s, 1950s

• Name

  Kitade, Tojiro

• Place

  Kanazawa, Japan, Ishikawa prefecture

• Topic

  Kutani ware, Cobalt pigment, Porcelain, Art, Showa era (1926 - 1989), Japanese Art, Ceramics, Nightingale

• Culture

  Japanese

• Object Type

  Vessels (containers)