Cup and Saucer
1875 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The glassy quality of the glaze and the vibrant hue of the blue found on this cup and saucer are typical of late nineteenth-century porcelains from Mino, which is located to the northeast of Nagoya in central Japan. Kato Gosuke was a renowned painter of birds and flowers who went on to win several awards at the 1878 Paris Exposition Universelle. The cup and saucer were part of a group of over 200 ceramics bought on behalf of the V&A by the Japanese Exposition commissioners with funds provided by Philip Cunliffe-Owen, an ardent Japanophile who was director of the V&A from 1874 to 1893. The instructions sent to the commissioners were that they should ‘make an historical collection of porcelain and pottery from the earliest period until the present time, to be formed in such a way as to give fully the history of the art.’
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 2 parts.
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| Materials and techniques | Porcelain decorated in underglaze blue |
| Brief description | Cup and saucer, porcelain with moulded relief design and decoration in underglaze blue; made in the province of Mino by Kato Gosuke, Japan, Meiji period, ca. 1875 |
| Physical description | Painted with summer flowers. |
| Style | |
| Marks and inscriptions | (On base)
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| Gallery label |
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| Object history | Purchased from the Japanese Commissioners for the Philadelphia Exposition of 1876, accessioned in 1877. This acquisition information reflects that found in the Asia Department registers, as part of a 2022 provenance research project. |
| Subject depicted | |
| Association | |
| Summary | The glassy quality of the glaze and the vibrant hue of the blue found on this cup and saucer are typical of late nineteenth-century porcelains from Mino, which is located to the northeast of Nagoya in central Japan. Kato Gosuke was a renowned painter of birds and flowers who went on to win several awards at the 1878 Paris Exposition Universelle. The cup and saucer were part of a group of over 200 ceramics bought on behalf of the V&A by the Japanese Exposition commissioners with funds provided by Philip Cunliffe-Owen, an ardent Japanophile who was director of the V&A from 1874 to 1893. The instructions sent to the commissioners were that they should ‘make an historical collection of porcelain and pottery from the earliest period until the present time, to be formed in such a way as to give fully the history of the art.’ |
| Bibliographic reference | Augustus Wollaston Franks and M. Shioda, Japanese Pottery. [London]: Chapman & Hall Ltd., 1880. South Kensington Museum Art Handbooks; 18.
Catalogue number 26 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 185&A-1877 |
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| Record created | October 30, 2008 |
| Record URL |
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