Vase
1875 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The decoration on this highly refined pair of vases combines underglaze painting carried out in Arita in western Japan with overglaze enamelling executed in Tokyo. At the time the vases were made, the Tsuji workshop was being run by its 11th generation head, Tsuji Katsuzo. The Hyochien decorating workshop was established in Tokyo in 1873. It specialised in making products for export to the west. The vases 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 | |
| Materials and techniques | Porcelain decorated in underglaze blue, overglaze enamels and gold |
| Brief description | Porcelain vase, one of a pair, decorated in underglaze blue, overglaze enamels and gold of carps and tortoises design, made by Tsuji of Hizen and painted by Hyochien of Tokyo, Japan, 1875. |
| Physical description | Painted with carps and tortoises, one of a pair with 367-1877 |
| Dimensions |
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| Styles | |
| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Gallery label | Pair of vases with carp
1875
Marked ‘Made by Tsuji, Hizen’ for the Tsuji workshop, Arita, and ‘Painted by Hyōchien, Tokyo, Japan’ for the Hyōchien workshop, Tokyo
Porcelain painted in underglaze blue, overglaze enamels and gold
Museum nos. 367&A-1877
(04/11/2015) |
| 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. |
| Association | |
| Summary | The decoration on this highly refined pair of vases combines underglaze painting carried out in Arita in western Japan with overglaze enamelling executed in Tokyo. At the time the vases were made, the Tsuji workshop was being run by its 11th generation head, Tsuji Katsuzo. The Hyochien decorating workshop was established in Tokyo in 1873. It specialised in making products for export to the west. The vases 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 210 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 367A-1877 |
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| Record created | February 14, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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