Hizen ware dish in Imari style

Large dish with uneven surface.
Clay: white porcelain;
Glaze: transparent, slightly bluish;
Decoration: in deep, thick underglaze blue and overglaze enamel colors and gold; flower basket in center.

Historical period(s)
Edo period, 1710-1750
Medium
Porcelain with cobalt pigment under clear colorless glaze, enamels over glaze
Style
Arita ware, Imari type
Dimensions
H x W: 7.7 x 55.5 cm (3 1/16 x 21 7/8 in)
Geography
Japan, Saga prefecture, Arita
Credit Line
Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1957.1
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Ceramic, Vessel
Type

Dish

Keywords
Arita ware, Imari type, Edo period (1615 - 1868), flower, Japan, porcelain
Provenance
Provenance research underway.
Description

Large dish with uneven surface.
Clay: white porcelain;
Glaze: transparent, slightly bluish;
Decoration: in deep, thick underglaze blue and overglaze enamel colors and gold; flower basket in center.

Label

This dish bears a central motif of a bouquet of peonies in a vase resting on a terrace.  Borrowed from a sixteenth-century Chinese porcelain design, the motif appears often on large Arita dishes decorated in the Imari style, which combines underglaze cobalt blue pigment with red, green, and gold enamels.  Around the rim, zigzag lines separate peony sprays from camellias within cartouches on a chrysanthemum-patterned ground.

Published References
  • Yamane Yuzo. Nihon iroe koto shu. Tokyo. pl. 51.
  • H. Batterson Boger. The Traditional Arts of Japan: A Complete Illustrated Guide. Garden City. pl. 14.
  • Oriental Ceramics: The World's Great Collections. 12 vols., Tokyo. vol. 10, pl. 62.
  • Tezuka Bunzo, Ko-Imari Chosa Iinkai. Koimari. Saga City. p. 151.
Collection Area(s)
Japanese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
SI Usage Statement

Usage Conditions Apply

There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.

The information presented on this website may be revised and updated at any time as ongoing research progresses or as otherwise warranted. Pending any such revisions and updates, information on this site may be incomplete or inaccurate or may contain typographical errors. Neither the Smithsonian nor its regents, officers, employees, or agents make any representations about the accuracy, reliability, completeness, or timeliness of the information on the site. Use this site and the information provided on it subject to your own judgment. The Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery welcome information that would augment or clarify the ownership history of objects in their collections.

citation | Save this image How to download an image | Request Permission | Terms of Use