Figure of a woman, porcelain painted in overglaze enamels and gilt; Japan, Arita kilns (Kakiemon type), Edo period, 1670-1690

Figure of a woman, seated upright and looking to her front, with the right leg folded and left knee raised, and resting the right forearm with hand extended on a bench-type armrest, the left arm held slightly away from the body with hand flexed touching the floor. She wears a long-sleeved kimino spreading out flat to the side and rear, sprinkled with blossoms and with a spray of a plant with large green, yellow and purple leaves on the back. The robe beneath is decorated with precious emblems on an overlapping petal ground in red, and there are black and purple underrobes, all with hems in red. The face is smiling, with red lips and black eye pupils, and the hair dressed with a central bun and loop behind fixed by a gold pin, all in black. The figure is hollow, and the base compartmented.

Purchased with Art Fund support and assistance from the Murray Bequest and the Horn Bequest

Date given as 1670-1690 in Porcelain for Palaces, no. 166; date on label in Toshiba Gallery given as 'about 1675-1700' as at February 2009

This figure of a woman is an example of so-called Kakiemon-style ware, which is typified by the use of bright enamel colours on a fine white porcelain body. The name Kakiemon derives from the family of decorators reputed to have introduced the techniques of overglaze enamelling to Arita in western Japan in the 1640s. Kakiemon-style wares, especially figures of this kind, were the costliest and most sought after of all Japanese ceramics exported to Europe. The figure is one of a pair.

FE.33-1980