Nabeshima ware dish in seven-sun size

Seven-sun plate. Dish on high foot. Footrim repaired.
Clay: fine white porcelain.
Glaze: transparent.
Decoration: in underglaze blue and overglaze enamel colors; outside, flowers on cavetto and typical “comb pattern” on foot; inside, auspicious objects and “kotobuki” reserved in white.

Historical period(s)
Edo period or Taisho era, 1690-1730 or 1912-1926
Medium
Porcelain with cobalt pigment under clear glaze, enamels over the glaze
Style
Arita ware, Nabeshima type
Dimensions
H x W: 5.8 x 20.3 cm (2 5/16 x 8 in)
Geography
Japan, Saga prefecture, Imari
Credit Line
Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1963.9
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Ceramic, Vessel
Type

Dish

Keywords
Arita ware, Nabeshima type, cobalt pigment, Edo period (1615 - 1868), Japan, porcelain, Taisho era (1912 - 1926)
Provenance

To 1963
Harry C. Nail, Jr., Palo Alto, California. [1]

From 1963
Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Harry C. Nail, Jr., Palo Alto, California. [2]

Notes:

[1] Curatorial Remark 1 in the object record.

[2] See note 1.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Harry C. Nail Jr.

Description

Seven-sun plate. Dish on high foot. Footrim repaired.
Clay: fine white porcelain.
Glaze: transparent.
Decoration: in underglaze blue and overglaze enamel colors; outside, flowers on cavetto and typical "comb pattern" on foot; inside, auspicious objects and "kotobuki" reserved in white.

Label

Auspicious symbols have been assembled eclectically from various groups of  "eights" (The Eight Buddhist Emblems, the Eight Taoist Emblems, the Eight Precious Things and the Eight Musical Instruments), all of which were popular for decorative use in China as well as in Japan.  Eight "sacred jewels" ring the character kotobuki ("congratulations") rendered in reserve in white against the under-glaze-cobalt ground.  The items depicted around the rim include the hat and the cape of invisibility in the upper left, scrolls and books suggesting wisdom, bulging moneybags shown not just once but twice, and attributes carried by various of the Eight Taoist Immortals.

Collection Area(s)
Japanese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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