Covered bowl
Category
Ceramics
Date
1700 - 1720
Materials
Porcelain, cobalt, enamel, gold.
Measurements
180 mm (Height); 280 mm (Diameter); 295 mm (Diameter); 93 mm (Height)
Place of origin
Arita
Collection
Saltram, Devon
NT 870933
Summary
Covered bowl, porcelain, round with relatively high sides, with a straight footring at the base and with a domed cover also with a footring, made in Arita, Hizen Province, Japan, 1700–20, decorated in underglaze blue and overglaze red and gold with flowering cherry trees, rocks, fences and peonies, with chrysanthemum emblems positioned in three places under the rim of the bowl and in three places around the footring of the cover, with an additional chrysanthemum inside the footring of the cover.
Full description
The stylised chrysanthemum motif is an example of a mon (紋) or kamon (家紋), a Japanese heraldic emblem used by aristocratic families – or the imperial family, in the case the chrysanthemum. In objects made for the Japanese market, the various mon would be shown on objects (including clothing) intended for or associated with those aristocratic houses or clans. In objects made for export to the West, however, the mon seem to have been deployed with greater freedom and more for decorative effect. Two almost identical covered bowls are in the collection of Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, inv. nos. PO 3808 and PO 5778, with a provenance from Augustus II (known as ‘the Strong’), Elector of Saxony (1670–1733), which are listed in the 1721 inventory of the Palace in Alt-Dresden, where they are described as ‘runde Olien-Pots mit Deckeln’ or ‘round oil pots with covers’.
Provenance
Given to the National Trust by Montagu Brownlow Parker, 5th Earl of Morley (1878-1962), 1957.