Sold Ceramics - Sold Japanese Imari 1690-1800 - Tableware and other Porcelain with Western Shapes - Page 1

Object 2011817

Shaving bowl

Japan

1700-1730

Height 69 mm (2.71 inch), diameter of rim 275 mm (10.83 inch), diameter of footring 118 mm (4.65 inch), weight 846 grams (29.84 ounce (oz.))

Shaving bowl on footring with a spreading flat rim, in it a saved semi-circular section below and two small glazed holes opposite the cut-out section of the rim. On the base one large spur, its cone still intact. Imari, decorated in underglaze blue, overglaze iron-red and gold in the centre with a fence, behind it a large flowering chrysanthemum (kiku) and peony (momo). On the rim large petal shaped cartouches filled with flowers. On the reverse two wide spread flowering prunus sprays. Three circles around the foot, one on the base.

The first documentary evidence for scheerbeckens or shaving bowls is a 1662 invoice from the Director of the Deshima factory in Nagasaki regarding an order for 258 of these dishes for shipment to the Netherlands. After this point shaving dishes become a regular export item.

Shaving bowls were used by barbers and were indispensable in the Dutch household too. They were made of earthenware, pewter, copper and even silver. Beside their function as a shaving utensil, they had an alternative use, namely to let blood from a vein in the arm during blood-letting. This was a medical procedure thought to drain bad blood from the system, which was also performed by the barber/surgeon. In the seventeenth century, regulations were put in place in England to govern what barbers were permitted to do. Thus they became confined to bloodletting and treating external diseases. In Prussia the barbers' and the surgeons' guild joined in 1779, and it was said of great Prussian surgeons that they had risen "up from the barber's bowl”. Both purposes explain the semi-circular saving. The two holes in the rim are for a cord or string. A shaving basin with the actual silk string still attached was excavated in Amsterdam. The string was used to suspend it from the client's neck to catch lather and water during shaving, or to hang the bowl on the wall thus implying that owners also appreciated the bowl for its decorative value as well as its function. Shaving bowls can be seen hanging on the wall as such in some dollhouses.

Cornelis Troost, Arlequin toovenaar en barbier, 1738, Mauritshuis, The Hague, Netherlands, inv. nr. 184. In spite of the satirical intent, the painting reflects actual usage.

The doll’s house of Petronella Dunois (1650-1695), c. 1676, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, the Netherlands, inv.nr. BK-14656. Two shaving dishes are suspended on the left wall.

Chinese shaving bowls usually have the holes in the footring instead of the rim. Most Japanese barber’s bowls are more or less rounded, whereas Chinese barber’s bowls usually are oval (for a Chinese example, please see Sold Archives object 2011301)

Larger pieces of Japanese porcelain such as plates, bowls and dishes, had a tendency to ‘sag’ during firing. That’s why they were often supported in the kiln by small stoneware pillars. After firing, these small cones or spurs which adhered to the base were knocked off, leaving behind small unglazed rough patches or spur marks on the base. The supports were arranged in X, Y or other patterns. Whether they have any relevance to dating or an attribution to a specific kiln is still unresolved. These spur marks are typically Japanese and are rarely seen on Chinese porcelain.

This shaving bowl shows one large spur, instead of several small spur marks, which is unusual. Also, the cone is still intact, which is quite rare (for another such example please see Sold Archives object 2011510).

For an almost identically decorated Japanese bowl and cover, please see:

Imari-Porzellan am Hofe der Kaiserin Maria Theresia, exhibition catalogue 21 July - 15 October 2000 (Hetjens Museum, Düsseldorf 2000), p. 61, cat. 28

Condition: Some wear to the iron-red decoration due to use.

References:

Jörg 1982/2, cat. 123

Arts 1983, pp.32-33

Düsseldorf 2000, cat. 28

Arita 2000, p. 91, cat. 282, p. 152, p. 163 & p.233

Impey 2002, p. 210, cat. 353

Jörg 2003/1, p. 14 & pp.184-185

Sargent 2012, p.189 cat. 88

Price: Sold.