Dish with design of mizuaoi and heron grass in stream

Large dish with wavy edge, three identations spaced below rim; wide flat unglazed footrim, four spur scars on base.
Clay: white porcelain
Glaze: clear, feldspathic
Decoration: painted in cobalt blue under the glaze, outline and wash; outside, three groups of rocks and camellias, inside – clump of mizuaoi and heron grass in stream within curved panel, outside of which is a delicate karakusa textile design in outline alone.
Marks: Yamato Meireki nen tsukuru in underglaze on base. Also 2-character mark recessed in footrim.

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Maker(s)
Artist: Sakaida Kakiemon IX or X
Historical period(s)
Edo period, 1820-1860
Medium
Porcelain with cobalt pigment under clear colorless glaze
Style
Arita ware, Kakiemon workshop
Dimensions
H x W x D: 8.5 x 41.5 x 41.5 cm (3 3/8 x 16 5/16 x 16 5/16 in)
Geography
Japan, Saga prefecture, Arita, Kakiemon or Kama-no-tsuji kiln, Nangawara
Credit Line
Anonymous gift in memory of Dr. Harold P. Stern
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1980.184
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Ceramic, Vessel
Type

Dish

Keywords
Arita ware, Edo period (1615 - 1868), Japan, plant, porcelain, river, water
Provenance
Provenance research underway.
Description

Large dish with wavy edge, three identations spaced below rim; wide flat unglazed footrim, four spur scars on base.
Clay: white porcelain
Glaze: clear, feldspathic
Decoration: painted in cobalt blue under the glaze, outline and wash; outside, three groups of rocks and camellias, inside - clump of mizuaoi and heron grass in stream within curved panel, outside of which is a delicate karakusa textile design in outline alone.
Marks: Yamato Meireki nen tsukuru in underglaze on base. Also 2-character mark recessed in footrim.

Inscription(s)

On the back is a six-character inscription naming the Meireki era (1655-1658), but this piece is close to two centuries later in date.

Marking(s)

Yamato Meireki nen tsukuru in underglaze on base.

Two-character mark recessed in footrim: the signatue "Saka kaki," written in cobalt within an impressed rectangular shape on the back, is the abbreviation for Sakaida Kakiemon, master of the Kakiemon workshop in the Nangawara district.

Label

The edges of this large thrown dish were pressed into irregular scallops to form the pond-like frame for clumps of dokudami and heron grass growing at the water's edge. Yet upon closer inspection the plants are seen to form the decoration on a flat summer fan, or uchiwa. The space around the uchiwa is filled by abstract floral motifs that suggest patterns on an indigo-dyed cotton summer kimono, or yukata. Both the decoration and the refreshing cool tone of the cobalt make this plate inviting for summer-time use. On the back is a six-character inscription naming the Meireki era (1655-1658), but this piece is close to two centuries later in date. The signatue "Saka kaki," written in cobalt within an impressed rectangular shape on the back, is the abbreviation for Sakaida Kakiemon, master of the Kakiemon workshop in the Nangawara district. A small number of dishes bearing this mark is known.

Published References
  • Mizumachi Wasaburo. Imari sometsuke ozara no kenkyu. Kyoto. .
Collection Area(s)
Japanese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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