Recent Acquisitions

On this page you'll find my latest acquisitions.

This way you can quickly browse through my recently acquired objects without having to browse through all the various categories.

After some time, each object in 'Recent Acquisitions' will be moved to their specific category.

Latest update: Recent Acquisitions; July 10, 2024.

2011333

Japanese Kakiemon / Japanese Kakiemon-style wares - Japanese Kakiemon

Object 2011333

Dish

Japan (Kakiemon)

1680-1700

Height 35 mm (1.38 inch), diameter of rim 186 mm (7.32 inch), diameter of footring 112 mm (4.41 inch) weight 336 grams (11.85 ounce (oz.))

Dish on footring, moulded sides with a scalloped underglaze brown-edged rim. On the base four spur-marks in a Y-pattern. Decorated in underglaze blue with a village with a church and houses, a lighthouse with trees, figures with a cow and poles with clouds. On the reverse stylized foliate scrolls. The low footring is encircled with a double concentric band. Marked on the base with a fuku ['luck'] mark within a double-lined square in seal script, four spur-marks in a Y-pattern and an old circular paper collectors label which reads: '47.'.

The design on this dish has traditionally been called 'Deshima' or 'Scheveningen'. This design was highly popular in The Netherlands, and possibly also in Japan as a kind of Western exoticism. It first appeared, in underglaze blue, on Japanese dishes of the late 17^th century.

It certainly does not depict the Dutch factory in Deshima (Nagasaki), a fan-shaped, man-made island in Japan to which Westerners were restricted between 1641 and 1862. Scheveningen, a fishermen´s village on the Dutch coast near The Hague seems a more appropriate name. In fact 47 'Scheveningen' plates were already mentioned in the 1778 sale catalogue of the porcelain shop of Martha Raap in Amsterdam, clearly indicating this type. Much research was done to find the print that was used as a model, but non with this view have yet come to light. it is therefore possible that another source was used, maybe a plate or dish in the so-called Frijtom style. Frederick van Frijtom (c.1632-1702) was a Delft faience painter who specialised in plates, dishes and plaques with landscapes in blue. His work is characterised by wide blank rims on plates and dishes, detailed painting of trees and landscapes and a specific way of drawing clouds. (Jörg 2003/1) The existence of a Scheveningen Japanese plate in precisely this style makes it plausible that at some point a Delft example by Frijtom was used. (Terwee 1989)

For this Japanese 'Scheveningen decoration' dish in Frijtom style, please see

Several variations of the ´Scheveningen decoration´ design are known, in both Japanese and – later - Chinese porcelain. These were mostly dishes, but elements of the design were also used on bowls and cups. Some copies are barely recognisable.

For some examples of variants of the Japanese ´Scheveningen decoration´ design, please see:

For a similarly, sold, Japanese 'Scheveningen decoration' dish, please see:

Sold Ceramics - Sold Japanese wares with Western Designs 1653-1800 - Object 2010749.

An interesting example in the collection of the Groninger Museum: a blank Chinese porcelain dish overdecorated in Delft (the Netherlands) c.1700-1730. The circle was thus made complete, the design having travelled from Delft to Japan and then back to Delft. (Jörg 2003/1, cat. 307a)

For this Delft variant, please see:

Fine & Curious: Japanese Export Porcelain in Dutch Collections, (C.J.A. Jörg, Hotei Publishing, Amsterdam 2003), p.241, cat. 307a.

Another interesting example in this regard, from Meissen, c. 1730:

Porcelain for Palaces. The Fashion for Japan in Europe 1650-1750, (J. Ayers, O. Impey & J.V.G. Mallet, Oriental Ceramic Society & The British Museum, London 1990), p.264, cat. 301.

In the cargo of the Ca Mau shipwreck, c.1725 a total of 80 dishes decorated with the Chine de commande 'Scheveningen decoration' were found. As we know the original designs were traditionally made in Japan for the Dutch. These dishes were so popular that Chinese potters copied them in order to compete with the Japanese. Such copies were already known, but the occurrence in the Ca Mau made it likely that these dishes, and therefore most of the porcelain cargo, were destined for Batavia because only the Dutch would appreciate such specific Chine de commande pieces. (Amsterdam 2007, p.17, lot 223-233 & p.179)

For some examples of later Chinese copies of the ´Scheveningen decoration´ design, please see:

This dish is a Kakiemon version of the ´Scheveningen decoration´ design.

Fitski describes an identical Kakiemon Nangawara workshop, 'Scheveningen’ dish decorated in underglaze blue. He compares it with two Kakiemon-style 'Scheveningen ' dishes decorated in underglaze blue from the Uchiyama workshop. Fitski notes that the Kakiemon piece has the fine texture characteristic of Nangawara. Also the true Kakiemon piece is made in a mould, the others are not. Furthermore, the painting on the Kakiemon example is more detailed and precise, with finer colour gradations than the two Uchiyama examples. The figures on all the dishes are rather strange and doll-like, but the Kakiemon figures are less stiff than the others. Overall, the painting of the Kakiemon-style dishes is more simplified. Other clues are provided when Fitski looks at the back of the plate. One is the fuku mark in seal script. Only the Kakiemon dish has a mark, very similar to our dish. Pieces with high-quality painting invariably bear an equally well-written mark and a mark can thus help to confirm identification. However, since some marks found on Kakiemon pieces from Nangawara workshops were also used on products from Uchiyama workshops, one cannot use it as the sole identifying characteristic. The most common mark by far is 'fuku' within a double-lined square, originally a Chinese commendation mark. This cursively written mark in different variants has come to be seen as the hallmark of Nangawara pieces from the period 1670 to 1700. On these pieces, the mark is neatly drawn and the calligraphy of the character is fluent but careful. The fuku variant on the base of object 2011767 seems to have been used around 1680 to 1700. (Jörg 2003/1, cat. 309), (Fitski 2011, p.164)

Looking at the reverse, this Kakiemon example also has a characteristic decoration with stylised foliate scrolls. One of the Kakiemon-style dishes does have a similar foliate scroll decoration, but it is less carefully painted. Furthermore, the Kakiemon example has a smoothly finished footring, just as on our dish. The Uchiyama examples still have sand adhering to theirs. The difference in the colour of the body is also evident in the footring: the Kakiemon dish is whiter. Lastly, the Kakiemon piece Fitski describes has one small, neat spur mark, while those on the other dishes are larger and less neat. If we look at our dish the four spur-marks are also very neat. (Fitski 2011, pp.94-95)

For similarly Kakiemon Nangawara 'Scheveningen decoration' dishes decorated in underglaze blue, please see:

For a similarly Kakiemon-style Uchiyama 'Scheveningen decoration' dishes decorated in underglaze blue, please see:

Kakiemon Porcelain. A Handbook. (M. Fitski, Leiden University Press, Leiden & Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, 2011), pp.94-95, cat. 106 & 107.

Underneath a comparison between the Kakiemon 'Scheveningen decoration' dish and a later Japanese and Chinese version.

2011767 2010749 2010145

2011767 reverse 2010749 reverse 2011145 reverse

Kakiemon version, c.1680-1700 Japanese version, c.1700 Chinese version, c.1720-1735

Condition: A circular firing flaw (crack) and a missing piece of glaze ate the front.

References:

Lunsingh Scheurleer 1966, cat. 272

Lunsingh Scheurleer 1971, cat. 65 & 65

Corbeiller 1974, cat. 10

Howard & Ayers 1978, cat. 32 & 32a

Jenyns 1979, cat. 19a. (i) & (ii)

Arts 1983, Plate 57

Hervouët 1986, cat. 4.20 & 4.21

Terwee 1989, pp.494-501

Ayers, Impey & Mallet 1990, cat. 67 & 301

Howard 1994, cat. 11

London 1997, cat. 75

Arita 2000, cat. 118

Impey 2002, cat. 391, 392, 393 & 394

Jörg 2003/1, cat. 306 & 307, 307a, 308, 309, 310 & 311

Kyushu 2003, cat. 2549

Amsterdam 2007, p.17, lot 223-233

Antonin & Suebsman 2009, cat. 98 & 99

Fitski 2011, p.164 & cat 105, 106 & 107

Schölvinck 2010, pp. 56-57

Sargent 2012, cat. 42

Price: € 499 Currency Converter

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2012603

Chinese wares over-decorated in the West 1700-1800 - Dutch over-decorated Amsterdams Bont - House of Orange

Object 2012603

Bowl

China

c.1730, over-decorated in the Netherlands, Amsterdams Bont, c.1750-1770

Height 73 mm (2.87 inch), diameter of rim 150 mm (5.91 inch), diameter of footring 67 mm (2.63 inch). weight 265 grams (9.35 ounce (oz.))

Bowl on footring, straight rim. Decorated in underglaze blue with a banana tree growing from a taihu (garden) rock and bamboo trees growing from behind a fence. On the bottom a single flower spray. Over-decorated in iron-red, black, gold and other overglaze enamels, in the Netherlands, Amsterdams Bont c.1750-1770 with a medallion with curling mantling filled with the words VIVAT ORANJE supported on each side with a flying angel blowing a trumpet. On a branch of the bamboo tree a large parrot. On the sides and bottom floral sprays, the bottom spray surrounded by a continuous leafy spray with oranges.

Since the establishment of the United Provinces in 1579 powerful members of the Orange-Nassau family had governed as Stadholders in the various provinces. In the 17th century their status had been raised by two marriages into the English royal family; in 1641, William II, (1626-1650), son of Prince Frederick Henry, (1584-1647), married Mary Stuart, daughter of Charles I; in 1677, their son, William III, (1650-1702), married Mary Stuart, (1662-1695), daughter of James, Duke of York, Later King James II. In 1689 William III and Mary succeeded to the throne of England. They had no children and after William's death the title of Prince of Orange-Nassau passed to Johan Willem Friso, (1687-1711), Stadholder of the northern provinces of Friesland and Groningen. This was inherited by his son Willem Carel Hendrik Friso, Prince William IV of Orange-Nassau, (1711-1751), an intelligent and courageous man whose ambition was to gain the position of Stadholder over all Seven Provinces. In 1734 he married Princess Anne, the Princess Royal, (1709-1759), daughter of George II, Hanoverian King of England, an event commemorated on delftware and Chinese porcelain. Although this is the first time that Dutch decorators had used Chinese porcelain to commemorate members of the House of Orange, it was part of a continuing tradition dating back to William the Silent (1533-1584) in which Orange-Nassau coats of arms and portraits were impressed or painted on German stoneware and delftware both in the Dutch Republic and England. (Espir 2005, pp.161-162)

In the 18th century, opponents of the stadtholder called themselves patriots. Patriotism was central to them. Patriots felt that William V (1748-1806) did not act forcefully enough against the English and violated the freedom of the citizens by behaving like a king. Orangists and patriots used symbols to show which side they were on. For example, Orangists used the slogan Vivat Oranje (long live Orange).

Condition: Professionally restored, two pieces glued back to the rim.

Reference:

Espir 2005, pp.161-164

Price: Sold.

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2012611

Japanese Blue and White wares 17th Century - Dishes

Object 2012611

Dish

Japan, Arita

1690-1710

Height 31 mm (1.22 inch), diameter of rim 209 mm (8.23 inch), diameter of footring 102 mm (4.02 inch), weight 350 grams (12.35 ounce (oz.))

Dish on footring, flat rim. Two spur-marks on the base. Decorated in underglaze blue in the style of Chinese kraak porcelain with an insect perched on a rock in a marsh landscape with water, rocks and flowering plants encircled by an eight-pointed scalloped medallion. The sides with a continuous border of leafy flower heads. On the reverse three widespread flower sprays. On the base two paper rectangular collectors' labels.

When the Chinese supply of Oriental porcelain diminished at the end of the 1640s the VOC, (Dutch East India Company, 1602–1799), decided to try to substitute it with Japanese wares. Japanese porcelain trade actually began on 7 October 1656 when the directors of the VOC in Amsterdam decided to ask the High Government in Batavia to send an assortment of porcelain to the Netherlands. Dutch officials on Batavia forwarded the request to Deshima (a fan-shaped artificial island in the Bay of Nagasaki) in 1657. Ordering and buying porcelain in Japan was as difficult for the Company as its trade in other commodities. Nevertheless the VOC imported 227,692 pieces into The Netherlands between 1660 and 1684. (Jörg 2003/1, pp.10-12)

For an identically shaped, sized and decorated dish with identical rim design dish, please see;

Hizen wares abroad, The 10th anniversary special exhibition, (Kyushu Ceramic Museum, Kyushu, 1990), p.41, cat. 40.

For an identically shaped, sized and decorated dish with a Chinese kraak rim design, please see:

Sold Ceramics - Sold Japanese Blue and White wares 17th Century - Dishes - Page 1 - Object 2011234.

For a similarly decorated Dutch (Delft) dish please see:

Sold Ceramics - Sold Delft Faience 1640-1730 / Other Earthenware - Delft Faience 1640-1730 - Object 2011050A.

Condition: Perfect.

Reference:

Kyushu 1990/1, cat. 40

Price: € 349 Currency Converter

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2012585

Chine de commande - Armorial / Pseudo-Armorial wares 1700-1800 - Armorial

Object 2012585

Tea bowl and saucer

China

1750-1755

Height of tea bowl 43 mm (1.69 inch), diameter of rim 74 mm (2.91 inch), diameter of footring 35 mm (1.38 inch), weight 46 grams (1.62 ounce (oz.))

Height of saucer 24 mm (0.94 inch), diameter of rim 123 mm (4.84 inch), diameter of footring 71 mm (2.80 inch), weight 65 grams (2.29 ounce (oz.))

Tea bowl and saucer on footrings, slightly everted rims. Decorated in encre de Chine (grisaille) and gold. The arms are an anchor above a book (bible?) The crest with to crossed keys with the letter 'O' at the dexter and 'E' at the sinister side. The mantling in traditional style comprises of scrolling leaves. The tea bowl is decorated en suite with an extra widespread flower spray.

It is yet unknown to whom these arms and the two initials 'O' and 'E' belong / refer. The crossed keys could point in the direction of the Dutch city of Leiden which carries two crossed keys in its city coat of arms.

Schermopname_5-6-2024_154114_picryl.com

Arms of the Leiden burgomaster Rippert van Groenendyck (c.1640) possibly an earlier carrier of the coat of arms. The book (bible?) might have been added by later ancestors. (Source: Rijksmuseum)

Schermopname_5-6-2024_154114_picryl.com 2

Arms of the city of Leiden, The Netherlands, similar to the crossed keys in the Armorial design. (Source: Rijksmuseum)

Condition tea bowl: Two shallow chips to the inner footring.

Condition saucer: Perfect.

Price: € 499 Currency Converter

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201097

Chine de commande - Western Subjects 1680-1800 - Western Designers - Pronk, Cornelis (1691-1759)

Objects 201097

Tea bowl

China

1750-1775

Height 49 mm (1.93 inch), diameter of rim 73 mm (2.87 inch), diameter of footring 33 mm (1.29 inch), weight 65 grams (2.29 ounce (oz.))

Tea bowl on footring, straight underglaze brown-edged rim (jia mangkou). Decorated in underglaze blue with a simplified representation of the 'Parasol Lady' after a design by the Dutch artist Cornelis Pronk (1691-1759) with a lady besides the water's edge with reeds, gesturing towards three birds on the ground in front of her, and her maid holding an ornate parasol. Round the inner rim a trellis pattern border.

Pronk´s the ´Parasol Lady´ design became very fashionable and was still in great demand when Dutch East India Company, (Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie, VOC) orders for this type of porcelain declined. Simplified imitations soon appeared on the market made at the artists' initiative, where both early Chinese and Japanese versions were used as models. This tea bowl is an example of such a late Chinese variant.

For the Dutch East India Company, (Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie, VOC) porcelain made to order after the drawings by Cornelis Pronk proved not to be profitable enough. Private traders however, saw how well it sold, which prompted them to commission simplified versions. This was the beginning of the production of all sorts of blue and coloured versions of this ware, among others of tea ware and of plates. Quite extraordinary were the Japanese imitations of Pronk Porcelain, which featured Japanese geishas instead of the well-known Chinese parasol ladies. This variant was later in turn copied in China as well. After it arrived in the Netherlands, blue Chinese porcelain was occasionally over-decorated in enamel colours (Amsterdams Bont), whereby the Pronk motif was copied as well. English imitations were seen far into the 19th century, while this motif even appears to have still been applied on Maastricht ware of as late approximately 1900. (Source: Groninger Museum)

Shards of a similar decorated saucer were excavated from the wreck of the Swedish East Indiaman Götheborg that ran aground and sunk in 1745 less than a kilometre short of her home port. (Wästefelt et al. 1991, pp. 270-273) For this shard of an identically decorated saucer, please see:

Porcelain from the East Indiaman Göthenborg, (B. Wästfelt, B Gyllensvärd & J. Weibull, Wiken, Götheborg 1991), pp. 270-273.

For a similarly decorated tea bowl / saucer, please see:

Condition: Some unglazed spots to the bottom, caused by the firing process.

References:

Vries 1923, pp.8-9

Goldsmith Phillips 1956, cat. 33

Beurdeley 1962, cat. 32-35

Lunsingh Scheurleer 1966, cat. 185

Park 1973, cat. 12 & 13

Corbeiller 1974, cat. 24

Gordon 1977, cat. 72

Howard & Ayers 1978, vol. I, pp.292-296

Jörg 1980, cat. 27

Jörg 1982/1, cat. 31-35 & cat. 40

Arts 1983, Plate 53a/b

Boulay 1984, p.262, nr. 4

Oka 1985, pp.69-76

Lunsingh Scheurleer 1989, cat. 182

Jörg 1989/2, cat. 45 & 46

Wästefelt et al. 1991, pp. 270-273

Howard 1994, cat. 53 & cat. 57

Jorg 1996, fig. 89

Jörg & Van Campen 1997, cat. 328a/b & cat. 329

Arita 2000, cat. 76-79

Jörg 2002/2, cat. 98 & 99

Jörg 2003/1, cat. 324 & 325

Litzenburg 2003, cat. 170

Fuchs & Howard 2005, cat. 24

Sargent 2012, cat. 143

Groninger Museum

Price: Sold.

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2012612

Japanese Blue and White wares 17th Century - Dishes

Object 2012612

Dish

Japan

1670-1690

Height 60 mm (2.36 inch), diameter of rim 398 mm (15.67 inch), diameter of footring 192 mm (7.56 inch), weight 1,874 grams (66.10 ounce (oz.))

Dish on footring, wide flat rim. On the base five spur-marks in a X-pattern. Decorated in underglaze blue. The central design shows two pheasant, one perched on a rock amongst bamboo and the other in flight above. On the rim four large and widespread flower sprays (chrysanthemum, peony) and fruit sprays (pomegranate and Buddha's hand citron). On the reverse two stylised sprays. On the base four paper rectangular collectors' labels.

For an identically shaped, sized and decorated dish, in the collection of the British Museum, please see:

Collection British Museum, Museum number: 1957,1029.1

Condition: Perfect.

Reference:

Collection British Museum, Museum number: 1957,1029.1

Price: € 999 Currency Converter

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2012614

Japanese Blue and White wares 17th Century - Dishes

Object 2012614

Dish

Japan

1680-1700

Height 58 mm (2.28 inch), diameter of rim 309 mm (12.16 inch), diameter of footring 145 mm (5.71 inch), weight 1,067 grams (37.64 ounce (oz.))

Deep dish on footring, spreading sides, narrow everted flat rim slightly upturned at the edge. On the base four spur-marks. Decorated in underglaze blue. In the centre flowering peony spray. On the sides groups of flowering plants growing from rockwork alternating with flowerheads, on the rim a continuous floral scroll on a broad underglaze blue band. The reverse with two widespread flower sprays. On the base three paper rectangular collectors labels.

The shape of this dish is unusual and probably derived from a Dutch, pewter or metal dish.

An identically shaped and sized and decorated dish, please see:

H.A. Daendels, Catalogus tentoonstelling Japans blauw wit Porselein. Op Hollandse bestelling en in de Japanse smaak, exhibition catalogue Gemeentelijk Museum Het Princessehof, Leeuwarden 1981. Also Published as Mededelingenblad Nederlandse Vereniging van Vrienden van de Ceramiek, vols. 101/102, p.63, cat. 81.

Condition: A hairline to the rim.

Reference:

Daendels 1981, cat. 81

Price: Sold.

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2012615

Japanese Imari 1690-1800 - Dishes

Object 2012615

Dish

Japan

1700-1720

Height 55 mm (2.17 inch), diameter of rim 305 mm (12.01 inch), diameter of footring 165 mm (6.50 inch), weight 1,165 grams (41.09 ounce (oz.))

Dish on footring, straight rim and slightly upturned edge. On the base two spur-marks. Imari, decorated in underglaze blue, iron-red and gold with a stylized 16-petal chrysanthemum crest, (kiku no mon). The petals are decorated in gold and iron-red and gold reserved on an underglaze blue ground. Those in gold reserved on an underglaze blue ground show either a lozenge diaper pattern (tasuki) or floral scrolls. Those in red and gold show designs of a flowering chrysanthemum. On the sides two groups of flowering plants, chrysanthemum alternating with peony both growing from rockwork. On the rim flowerheads between scrolls in gold on an underglaze blue ground. The reverse with chrysanthemum, peony and prunus sprays.

Although some types of chrysanthemums begin flowering in the summer, the chrysanthemum is primarily an indication of autumn. Like many autumn motifs the chrysanthemum evokes feelings of melancholy in Japan, as is beautifully expressed in a poem by the 9th-century Ki no Tomonori:

tsuyu nagara / to wear in my hair

arite kazasamu / I plucked a chrysanthemum

kiku no hana / with dew still clinging to it

aisenu aki no / oh may this present

hisashikarubeku / autumn's youth last forever

2012615 b

Despite the chrysanthemum's status as a symbol of the Japanese imperial house, this meaning is only relevant when a 'sixteen'-fold double chrysanthemum', the stylized family crest (mon), is placed prominently and singly on an object.

(Source: Fitski 2011, p.149)

For an identically decorated dish, please see:

For dishes with a similarly large central chrysanthemum crest, (kiku no mon), please see:

For a dish with a similarly large central chrysanthemum crest, (kiku no mon), formerly part of the Dresden collection formed by Friedrich August or August the Strong, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland please see:

Sold Ceramics - Sold Japanese Porcelain from the Collection of Prince Elector Friedrich Augustus I, later King Augustus II (1670-1733), also known as Augustus the Strong, King of Poland and Elector of Saxony, (12 May 1670 in Dresden - 1 February 1733 in Warsaw) - Object 2011307.

Condition: A firing flaw to the base and a hairline to the rim.

References:

Kassel 1990, cat. 286

London 1997, cat. 119

Suchomel 1997, cat. 104, 156 & 197

Düsseldorf 2000, cat. 58

Impey 2002, cat. 354

Jörg 2003/1, cat. 126, 247 & 247a

Kyushu 2003, cat. 2789

Fitski 2011, p.149

Price: Sold.

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2012613

Red & Gold / Rouge-de-Fer 1690-1730 - Flowers, Animals and Long Elizas

Object 2012613

Double-gourd vase

China

1700-1720

Height 83 mm (3.27 inch), diameter 39 mm (1.54 inch), diameter of mouthrim 17 mm (0.67 inch), diameter of foot 18 mm (0.71 inch), weight 48 grams (1.69 ounce (oz.))

A double-gourd miniature "doll's house" vase on a flat unglazed base. Decorated in 'Red & Gold' / 'Rouge-de-fer' with iron-red and gold on the glaze with two panels filled with a flowering plant and grasses alternating with foliage scrolls. On the shoulder an broad iron-red band, On the neck two panels filled with a flowering plant and grasses alternating with foliage scrolls. Round the mouthrim a single band in gold.

It was a popular pastime for the ladies of the Dutch patrician society to furnish doll's houses, whose various rooms reflected those of their own town palaces. Apart from the usual furniture, miniature versions of exotic luxury goods such as porcelain, fabrics, carpets and lacquer were obligatory. The doll's house of Petronella Oortman, now in the Rijksmuseum of Amsterdam, and that of Lita de Ranitz in the Historical Museum of the Hague are considered to be the most prominent examples. The Chinese had produced miniature ceramics for almost one thousand years for the decoration of birdcages, therefore it was no problem for them to supply the Dutch with doll's house porcelain. Miniature pieces were also displayed in ordinary porcelain rooms. (Suebsman 2019, pp.76-77, cat. 28)

Reference:

Suebsman 2019, cat. 28

Condition: Some firing flaws and a very tiny shallow fleabite to the rim.

Price: Sold.

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2011821

Japanese Garnitures or Parts of a Garniture

Object 2011821

Jar

Japan

1690-1720

Height 489 mm (12.40 inch), diameter of rim 179 mm (5.16 inch), diameter of footring 185 mm (4.52 inch), weight 10,900 grams (384.49 ounce (oz.)),

Large ovoid jar on footring, recessed base. Wide upright neck. The original cover is missing. Imari decorated in underglaze blue, iron-red, gold and enamels with three large panels of peony, chrysanthemum, prunus and peach. The shoulders with a band of kidney-shaped panels of similar flowers below two registers of running foliage on the collar and neck. The slightly ridged foot encircled by classic scroll below a basic frieze of leaves and fronds.

This covered jar might have originally been part of garniture consisting of three covered oviform-shaped jars and two cylindrical beaker vases with spreading mouths. They were very popular in the Netherlands and elsewhere in Europe where they were used as decorative items in the interior. Large garnitures could only be afforded by the nobility and well to do who displayed them in the representative rooms and galleries of their palaces and country houses. They were often placed on specially made pedestals or were mounted and functioned as exotic eyecatchers. Placed inside the fireplace they hid the blackened wall from view in summer and filled with sand, these jars were used as extinguishers near fire-places. The origin of the five-piece set has not been established yet but it seems logical to look to China, which influenced Japanese export wares in so many ways. Transitional pieces, including large, covered jars with an enamelled decoration, reached The Netherlands in the 1640s, and clearly had a decorative function in the Dutch Interior. When Chinese production waned, the Japanese took over and from the late 17th century started to make similar jars and beakers in underglaze blue to order for the Dutch. Then, suddenly, they were no longer single objects but parts of five-piece sets. Large scale porcelain production for export was resumed in China in the early 1680s and many new shapes emerged. Apparently, the garniture set was among them. What exactly triggered the change from the single vase or beaker to a set is not known. Japanese covered jars decorated in underglaze blue usually show Chinese elements such as phoenixes, large flowering plants, rocks, and sometimes figures in a landscape setting. Most jars are globular or oviform. They reflect the relatively rare hexagonal and octagonal Chinese pieces, in particular the Transitional jars of the 1640's. The Chinese had stopped producing polygonal jars in the middle of the 17th century. This Japanese preference for any-sided pieces is also apparent in the shape of dishes, saucers and bowls made for export from the late 17th century onwards. Covers of jars are domed and often quite high. The knobs are large and either flattened, round or pear-shaped and rarely facetted as is the case with this jar It is interesting to note that the decoration on the Arita pieces does not imitate some of the specific Chinese Kangxi patterns, such as the characteristic division in bands of panels but show two or three wide panels filled with motifs taken from nature or a free-flowing composition all over the surface. Complete blue-and-white garnitures are extremely rare nowadays, and most existing single vases or jars might in fact have been part of such a set. When the five-piece sets became popular, the blue-and-white pieces were largely replaced by their polychrome (Imari) counterparts. (Hartog 1990, p.130, cat 158), (Jörg 2003/1, pp.259-260)

These type of large, covered jars may be considered as a form of Japanese 'Chinoiserie' for the European market. In Japan larger covered jars of this kind were called chinkô tsubo (aloe jar), presumably because aromatic substances such as wood were transported in these jars by the Dutch East India Company, (Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie, VOC), from Southeast Asia to Europe. Shards of this type have been excavated on the site of the Dutch trading post of the VOC. in Nagasaki which are dated 1670-1700. (Ströber 2001, pp.156-157, cat. 69)

For identically shaped, sized, and decorated large jars, please see:

For an identically shaped, sized, and decorated large jar in the collection of Augustus the Strong in Dresden (registered under the number P.O. (Porzellan Ostasien) 9086), please see;

SKD Online collection, PO. 9086.

Condition: A firing flaw to the foot.

References:

Stamford 1981, cat. 121

Hartog 1990, cat 158

Suchomel 1997, cat. 138

Ströber 2001, cat. 69

Jörg 2003/1, pp.259-260

Kyushu 2003, cat. 2528

SKD Online collection, PO. 9086

Price: Sold.

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2012618

Southeast Asia other wares

Object 2012618

Dish

Annamese (Vietnamese)

c.1500

Height 73 mm (2.87 inch), diameter 368 mm (14.49 inch), diameter of footring 205 mm (8.07 inch), weight 2,002 grams (70.62 ounce (oz.))

Dish on footring, spreading sides, narrow flat rim with raised edge. Decorated in a strong underglaze blue with a large leafy lotus spray on the sides flower heads with scrolls. The edge unglazed. On the reverse a band of lotus panels containing leaf-forms.

The Chinese conquest under the leadership of the emperor Yong Le between 1407 and 1427 had a great effect on Vietnamese culture. Although he wanted to encourage overseas trade, the trade was bound up in so many unpopular rules which were designed to fill the treasure chests in Peking, that in practice trade stagnated. It was therefore not until 1480 that the Chinese export of ceramics was once able to compete with that of Thailand and Vietnam. Blue underglaze decorations were found very early on in Vietnamese ceramics but only really developed during the 15th century. Due to the Chinese conquest cobalt oxide could be imported in greater amounts. Cobalt oxide was one of the raw materials needed to produce the beautiful blue decorations and therefore rapidly supplanted the iron oxide paints. Cobalt can withstand a higher oven temperature and burns less quickly in the kiln than othet piments. In addition, the monochrome brown and celadon-coloured ware also became less popular. (Borstlap 1993, p.47)

The 15th and 16th century blue and white decorations are lifely and in the main inspired by 14th century Chinese Ming porcelain. This can be seen when, for example, lotus, leaf and cloud motifs are compared. However, the shapes and firing techniques were now also based on the Chinese example. the decorations and shapes of plates, bowls, bottles, and such like often look very Chinese but on close inspection the differences are very clear.

After about 1450 many othjer colours were also used, such as red, green, and orange, which were painted on to the glaze. (Borstlap 1993, pp.48-49)

Yet in China's awesome shade, Vietnamese ceramics have been regarded even by western admirers as rustic reflections of Chinese wares, one of "the innumerable schools of provincial ceramics", rather than as an expression of Vietnam's own, admirable, tradition. Asian and western scholarship on ceramics has naturally been dominated by the extraordinary achievements of Chinese potters. There has been a tendency to approach the subject of Vietnamese ceramics from a Chinese perspective and to overlook the originality of the comparatively small output of a comparatively small neighbor.

Vietnam is now opening to the rest of the world. Actually, conscious of the historical pressures that have given their country its present form, Vietnamese are aware of the extent to which ancient ceramics define their culture. Art objects have fared badly in Vietnam. Items made of wood, paper, or textiles have not survived the hot, humid climate, and architectural monuments were destroyed in antiquity during the incursions of Khmers, Chams, Mongolians, and Chinese. Indeed, during their occupation of Vietnam from 1407 to 1427, the Chinese seem to have deliberately obliterated artifacts of a culture different from their own, removing libraries and archives and leveling palaces and temples. But ceramics have survived intact. Along with literature and music (art forms that can exist without tangible expression), They are probably the most important remaining manifestations of Vietnam's cultural traditions. As physical from of historical memory, ceramics form a more significant portion of the country's artistic identity than they do in most cultures. (Stevens & Guy 1997, pp.23-25)

For similarly decorated dishes see;

Condition: Some firing flaws and a short hairline to the rim.

References:

Stevens & Guy 1997, pp.23-25

Borstlap 1993, pp.48-49

Price: € 499 Currency Converter

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2012620

Japanese Blue and White wares 17th Century - Other wares

Object 2012620

Jar

Japan

1660-1680

Height 164 mm (6.46 inch), diameter of mouthrim 68 mm (2.68 inch), diameter of footring 72 mm (2.83 inch), weight 651 grams (22.96 ounce (oz.))

Jat of slender, almost symmetrical oval shape on footring with a short neck and a wide mouthrim (the original cover is missing). Decorated, rather sketchily in a Chinese Transitional style, in underglaze blue with figures in s landscape, two near a large tree, two holding a banner. On the neck a schematic lappet border

The shape and decoration imitate a model of Chinese transitional porcelain, but the related Chinese jars are usually larger and wider (a good selection was in the Hatcher junk sale, see Sheaf 1988). It is remarkable that this specific slender oval shape is rare in Japanese export porcelain. Surviving Arita pieces are mostly of this type and usually with a similar decoration; larger ones seem not be known. The motif of figures with a banner occurs often on blue-and-white ware of this period. (Jörg 2003/1, p.33)

For identically shaped, sized and decorated jars, please see:

Condition: Two frits to the tootring.

References:

Lunsingh Scheurleer 1971, cat. 161

Oxford 1981, cat. 58 & cat. 61

Price: Sold.

2010C329

Japanese Blue and White wares 18th Century - Tableware and other Porcelain with Western Shapes

Object 2010C329

Salt

Japan

1670-1690

Height 95 mm (3.74 inch), diameter concave scale 47 mm (1.85 inch), diameter foot 95 mm (3.74 inch), weight 247 grams (8.71 ounce (oz.))

Eight-sided salt of waisted shape on spreading foot, the open foot unglazed. Short tapering neck, the top slightly concave. Decorated in underglaze blue with a bird perched on a rock surrounded by flowering plants, at the foot rockwork with grasses and flowering plants.

As mustard pots, salts were also among the first items the Dutch East India Company, (Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie, VOC) ordered, but unfortunately no particulars are given regarding shape or decoration. They belonged to the standard assortment, the shape derived from a Dutch pewter or ceramic model. (Jörg 2003/1, p.163)

The material and the Japanese style decoration made this salt an exotic object that was prominently placed on a richly laid table. At this time salts were ordered separately, and only much later as part of a dinner service. With many Christian connotations, salt was an important seasoning at dinner before the 19th century and salts larger and more elaborate than they are today. (Jörg 2011/2, p.148)

For similarly shaped and decorated salts, please see;

Condition: A chip at the foot.

References:

Arita 2000, cat.118

Jörg 2003/1, p.163)

Kyushu 2003, cat.2209

Jörg 2011/2, p.148

Price: Sold.

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