Bowl thumbnail 1
Bowl thumbnail 2
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Ceramics, Room 145

Bowl

1700-1720 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This bowl is an example of the type of porcelain made in late 17th to early 18th-century Japan for export to Europe. The areas of dark blue were achieved by painting with cobalt oxide under a clear glaze and firing to a high temperature in a reducing atmosphere - one in which the kiln is starved of oxygen so that the burning fuel draws chemically bonded oxygen from the reactive parts of the ceramic material, leaving them in a reduced state and changing their colour. The gold, red and other enamel colours were applied and fused on in subsequent, low-temperature firings. The distinctive so-called Imari-style colour scheme was much copied by 18th-century European manufacturers. The term Imari comes from the name of the port in western Japan through which this and other products of the nearby Arita kilns were shipped. Porcelains for export were sent to Nagasaki and then shipped abroad by Chinese and Dutch merchants, the Dutch, who were based on the island of Dejima, being the only Europeans permitted to conduct trade in Japan at this time. The chrysanthemum, a frequent Imari-style motif, symbolised autumn and was also the crest of the Japanese imperial family.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Porcelain painted in underglaze blue, overglaze enamels, and gold
Brief description
Fluted bowl, porcelain, painted in underglaze blue, overglaze enamels and gold, Arita, Japan, 1700-20
Physical description
Fluted bowl in chrysanthemum-like form with relief-moulded chryanthemum crest or mon in centre; painted with brocade patterns alternating with flowers and foliage
Dimensions
  • Diameter: 9.2cm
Dimensions from registers
Styles
Credit line
Given by Miss E. Mackworth Dolben
Object history
Given by Miss E. Mackworth Dolben, accessioned in 1892. This acquisition information reflects that found in the Asia Department registers, as part of a 2022 provenance research project.
Summary
This bowl is an example of the type of porcelain made in late 17th to early 18th-century Japan for export to Europe. The areas of dark blue were achieved by painting with cobalt oxide under a clear glaze and firing to a high temperature in a reducing atmosphere - one in which the kiln is starved of oxygen so that the burning fuel draws chemically bonded oxygen from the reactive parts of the ceramic material, leaving them in a reduced state and changing their colour. The gold, red and other enamel colours were applied and fused on in subsequent, low-temperature firings. The distinctive so-called Imari-style colour scheme was much copied by 18th-century European manufacturers. The term Imari comes from the name of the port in western Japan through which this and other products of the nearby Arita kilns were shipped. Porcelains for export were sent to Nagasaki and then shipped abroad by Chinese and Dutch merchants, the Dutch, who were based on the island of Dejima, being the only Europeans permitted to conduct trade in Japan at this time. The chrysanthemum, a frequent Imari-style motif, symbolised autumn and was also the crest of the Japanese imperial family.
Collection
Accession number
834-1892

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Record createdJune 25, 2009
Record URL
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