mizusashi; lid BM-Franks.1382.+

Period:Unknown Production date:1630s-1640s
Materials:porcelain
Technique:glazed, painted,
Subjects:landscape mammal boat/ship child
Dimensions:Diameter: 34.40 centimetres Height: 25.10 centimetres

Description:
Water jar (mizusashi) and lid with design of children and birds in a landscape. Porcelain with underglaze cobalt blue. Shonzui ware.
IMG


Comments:Chinese lidded water jar, with children in a gardenPorcelain with underglaze cobalt blue, Jingdezhen kilns, Shonzui ware, 1630-40sGiven by Sir A.W.Franks日本向け中国磁器Chinese porcelains for JapanFrom the early 1600s Japanese merchants ordered Chinese porcelains in shapes and designs that suited the Japanese marcket.Each of the three small incense containers has a playful shape that appealed to Japanese taste. The potter deliberately distorted the shape of the water jar with his elbow, something never done for Chinese customers.(Label copy, 2017) Regarding the underglaze cobalt-blue decorated porcelain mizusashi with lid (number 1382+ Franks), we have designated it Chinese Shonzui ware dating to 1640-50s. Franks originally catalogued it as 19th century Kyoto ware. However, the porcelain body, colour of the cobalt (violet blue) and style of painting all are consistent with Shonzui-style ware produced in the Jingdezhen kilns in China from the 1630-50s. The shape of the Mizusashi is consistent with ordered pieces from China for the Japanese market (ie, mikan-shaped (orange) and the over-emphasis on the dent in the side of the vessel). Similar examples are in the Nezu Museum, The Tokyo National Museum and one that is a registered piece and considered the best of its kind is in the Gotoh Museum, Tokyo. Arakawa Masa’aki from the Idemitsu Museum, Professor Takeuchi Jun’ichi from the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music Museum (formerly Head Curator from the Gotoh Museum), and Professor Ohashi Koji from the Kyushu Ceramic Museum have all confirmed this attribution.NCR 3/3/04