Detail View: The AMICA Library: Gourd-Shaped Bottle

ASIA.1979.243

1999

Decorative Arts and Utilitarian Objects

Asian; Far East Asian; Japanese

Japanese

Gourd-Shaped Bottle

Full view

Edo period, c. 1660-1680

1660

1680

Porcelain painted with overglaze enamels (Arita ware)

Ceramics

Japan, Saga Prefecture

H. 10 3/8 in. (26.4 cm); D. 5 3/4 in. (14.6 cm)

Asia Society

New York, New York, USA

1979.243

Asia Society: The Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection

http://www.asiasociety.org

The rapid development and diversification of the Japanese porcelain industry in the 17th century is one of the most fascinating episodes in the history of ceramics. During this period, the city of Arita, located in the Saga Prefecture in Hizen Province on the southern island of Kyushu, became the largest and most important center for the production of porcelain in the world. Several factors contributed to this development. One was the contribution of the many technically advanced potters brought to Japanfrom Korea during the late 16th-century Japanese invasions of that country. Another was the prohibitive effects of the civil disarray in 17th-century China on its ceramic industry, which led Europeans and other customers in search of highly prized porcelains to turn to Japan.

The first Japanese porcelains were painted with underglaze cobalt blue, called "old blue-and-white" ware (ko-sumetsuke). But by about 1640, overglaze enamels had been added to the palette. It is generally accepted that overglaze enamels were introduced to Kyushu from Kyoto rather than from China. One reason for this assumption is the use of a vibrant overglaze blue in both Kyoto ware and Japanese porcelains, a color not found in Chinese ceramics of that period.

The majority of Japanese porcelains are classified as Arita wares, based on the location of their production. This gourd-shaped bottle typifies the early enameled wares produced at Arita, and can be dated c. 1660-80. It is fairly thickly potted and painted with lively compositions that are carefully placed to flow across the surface. The leaves on the shoulder are yellow and green, the densely packed needles of the pine tree on the body of the bottle are dark green, the buds of the plum tree are yellow, and the cloudlike forms decorated with a basketweave-like pattern are red. As is often true of early enameled wares from Arita, the shapes are outlined using a fairly thick black enamel.

Asia Society. Handbook of the Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection. New York: Asia Society, [1981], p. 106.

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