Hizen ware bottle in tea-whisk form

Historical period(s)
Edo period, 1650-1670
Medium
Porcelain with enamels over colorless glaze
Style
Arita ware, early enamel type
Dimensions
H x W: 25.1 x 15 cm (9 7/8 x 5 7/8 in)
Geography
Japan, Saga prefecture, Arita
Credit Line
Gift of Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1970.41
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Ceramic, Vessel
Type

Bottle

Keywords
Arita ware, early enamel type, Edo period (1615 - 1868), Japan, pine tree, porcelain, tea, WWII-era provenance
Provenance
Provenance research underway.
Label

Japanese porcelains with overglaze enamels of this type, derived from Chinese decorated porcelain of the first half of the seventeenth century, formerly were thought to have been made at the Kutani kilns in Ishikawa prefecture. Archaeological research has now demonstrated that they were made at the Arita kilns in Saga prefecture, the former Hizen province. This style of decoration represents the earliest phase of enamel decoration on Japanese porcelain. The principle motif on this bottle is the "three friends of winter—pine, plum, and bamboo."

Published References
  • Oriental Ceramics: The World's Great Collections. 12 vols., Tokyo. vol. 10, pl. 69.
  • Thomas Lawton. Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer Memorial Exhibition. Exh. cat. Washington, 1971. cat. 31, pp. 74-75.
  • Julia Murray. A Decade of Discovery: Selected Acquisitions 1970-1980. Exh. cat. Washington, 1979. cat. 73, p. 94.
Collection Area(s)
Japanese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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