Bottle
Photography by Synthescape, Digital image © Asia Society
Bottle
About 1670-1690
Saga Prefecture, Japan
Porcelain painted with overglaze enamels (Arita ware, Kakiemon style)
H. 15 7/8 x Diam. 8 1/2 in. (30.3 x 21.6 cm)
Asia Society, New York: Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection, 1979.235
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This bottle is painted with two near-identical scenes of two birds sitting on gnarly rocks amidst a flowering tree. Both its milky white body and its decorative scheme and coloring typify Kakiemon-style porcelain, which is different from the more generic Imari ware. The Kakiemon workshop, one of several leading porcelain manufacturers in northern Kyushu, seems to have catered more to international markets than to the domestic market. Indeed, during the late 17th-early 18th century, Kakiemon porcelain was in great demand in Europe.