Arita ware oval bowl in Kakiemon style, used as tea ceremony water jar

Historical period(s)
Meiji or Taisho era, 1868-1925
Medium
Porcelain clay with enamels over colorless glaze; lacquered wooden lid
Style
Arita ware, Kakiemon style
Dimensions
H x W x D: 8.9 x 15 x 19.3 cm (3 1/2 x 5 7/8 x 7 5/8 in)
Geography
Japan, Saga prefecture, possibly Mikawachi
Credit Line
Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1953.11a-d
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Ceramic, Vessel
Type

Tea ceremony water jar (mizusashi) or incense burner (koro)

Keywords
Arita ware, flower, incense, Japan, Meiji era (1868 - 1912), phoenix, plum blossom, porcelain, Taisho era (1912 - 1926), tea, water, WWII-era provenance
Provenance

To 1953
Howard Hollis & Co., Cleveland, Ohio. [1]

From 1953
Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Howard Hollis & Co., Cleveland, Ohio. [2]

Notes:

[1] Curatorial Remark 1 in the object record.

[2] See note 1.

Previous Owner(s)

Howard Hollis and Company

Label

The oval form of this slip-cast bowl is a modern addition to the repertory of wheel-thrown shapes made in workshops in Arita since the late seventeenth century and decorated in the Kakiemon style. In that style, named after one of the major workshops in Arita, strong red iron-oxide pigment highlights the palette of clear enamels used to execute sparse motifs, whose small scale emphasizes the milky white of the porcelain clay. On this piece the motif is a rose bush growing against a fence.

Published References
  • Sadajiro Yamanaka. Kutani, Nabeshima, Kakiemon Meihinshu [Selected Japanese Ceramics of Kutani, Nabeshima, and Kakiemon]. Osaka. pl. 86.
  • Oriental Ceramics: The World's Great Collections. 12 vols., Tokyo. vol. 10, pl. 64.
Collection Area(s)
Japanese Art
Web Resources
Whistler's Neighborhood
Google Cultural Institute
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