Japanese Nabeshima and Arita Ruri dishes, 19th century

A Japanese Nabeshima dish and an Arita Ruri dish, Edo period…
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A Japanese Nabeshima dish and an Arita Ruri dish, Edo period (1603-1868), 19th century and 1770-1790, the Nabeshima dish of moulded chrysanthemum form decorated in underglaze blue with branches of flowering paulownia. The other dish covered in a ruri blue glaze with gilded decoration of chestnuts, the Nabeshima dish 30 cm wide. Provenance: The Genine Wallinga collection, Genine Wallinga is the current president of the ceramics & glass circle of Australia, and has been collecting European 18th century ceramics and Japanese Ko-Imari ceramics from Arita of the 17th and 18th centuries for the last 20 years. Her connoisseurship has led her to focus on early Edo period Kakiemon porcelain, one of the great technological and artistic achievements in Japanese ceramic history, of which a number are offered in this collection.

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  • Kakiemon Porcelain - Kakiemon porcelain was made from the 16th to the 19th century in the Arita area of Japan, and is generally agreed to include some of the finest porcelain made in Japan. It is decorated with polychrome enamels over glaze, the most popular colours being underglaze blue and enamels of green, blue, turquoise yellow and persimmon red.

    The body of a Kakiemon object is pure white porcelain while the enamel overglaze motifs incorporate Japanese and Chinese designs, but leave much of the white surface unpainted. The name derives from the family of potters who are associated with this style of pottery.

    Early Kakiemon porcelain was unmarked, and marks on later objects were variable and unreliable.

    Kakiemon porcelain was first imported into Europe by the Dutch at the end of the 17th century, and became extremely popular, resulting in Kakiemon-style imitations being produced by European potteries including Bow, Chelsea and Worcester in England, Mennery, Samson and St. Cloud in France, Delft in Holland and Meissen in Germany.

    It's rare for an original Kakiemon object to come onto the market, and almost all sold nowadays is of European origin, and described as Kakiemon pattern or Kakiemon style.
  • Gilding - Gilding is a method of ornamentation whereby a thin sheet of gold metal is applied to items made of wood, leather, ceramics, glass and silver for decorative purposes.

    For furniture including mirrors, the sheet of gold is usually applied over a coating of gesso. Gesso is a mixture of plaster of Paris and gypsum mixed with water and then applied to the carved wooden frames of mirrors and picture frames as a base for applying the gold leaf. After numerous coats of gesso have been applied, allowed to dry and then sanded a coat of "bole", a usually red coloured mixture of clay and glue is brushed on and allowed to dry, after which the gold leaf is applied. Over time parts of the gilding will rub off so the base colour can be seen. In water gilding, this was generally a blue colour, while in oil gilding, the under layer was often yellow. In Victorian times, gilders frequently used red as a pigment beneath the gold leaf.

    Metal was often gilded by a process known as fire gilding. Gold mixed with mercury was applied and heated, causing the mercury to evaporate, the long-term effect of which was to kill or disable the craftsman or woman from mercury poisoning. The pursuit of beauty has claimed many victims, not the least of which were the artists who made those pieces so highly sought after today.
  • Edo Period, Japan - The Edo period in Japan lasted from 1603 to 1868. During this time, Japan was ruled by the Tokugawa shogunate, a military government led by the Tokugawa family. The Edo period is characterized by a period of relative peace, stability, and economic growth, as well as by the development of a distinctive culture and society.

    During the Edo period, the capital of Japan was moved from Kyoto to Edo (modern-day Tokyo), and the country became increasingly isolated from the rest of the world. The shogunate implemented strict policies to maintain control, including the restriction of foreign trade and travel. However, despite this isolation, the Edo period saw significant cultural and artistic development, including the emergence of the ukiyo-e woodblock print tradition, the growth of Kabuki theater, and the flourishing of a vibrant merchant culture.

    The Edo period ended with the Meiji Restoration of 1868, which saw the collapse of the shogunate and the restoration of imperial rule.

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