Nabeshima Dish with Design of Bamboo（Edo Period）

Order

Product Code

241213-2

Period

Edo Period
End 17th century-Early 18th century

Weight

532g

Diameter

20.5cm

Height

6.0cm

Bottom Diameter

11.0cm

Description

We shall make the harikomi box
Acrylic Dish Stand

Condition

Excellent Condition

It meets the sophisticated modeling, beautiful blue-and-white, good firing and excellent work.

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Nabeshima ware is a highly sophisticated and specially made porcelain that is the only one in japan that has the characteristics of the imperial-kiln, making it the masterpiece that can be proud to the world. This work was fired during the peak period of the genroku era（1688-1704）.

Bamboo has long been considered an auspicious plant because it grows straight toward the sky and has the vitality to remain green even in winter without dying. The origin of the word is that it grows quickly and increases in length, and it is also considered a symbol of the prosperity of descendants. It has the meaning of strength, purity, moderation, immortality, and longevity. Bamboo best reflects japanese tradition and aesthetic sense.

The skin has the role of protecting the bamboo from being eaten by animals such as boars and foxes, and as the bamboo grows, the skin naturally falls off. It takes about 30 days for all the bark to peel off, and the bamboo shoots covered in bark during the growing stage turn into hard, sturdy bamboo.

The heavy, mokuhai-shaped gives it a special atmosphere.

This is a rare example of a design featuring peonies and leaves arranged on five sides on the back.

The kodai features an intricately drawn kushiba design. The kodai employed a meticulous technique of painting inside the outlines drawn using blue-and-white.

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Nabeshima Ware

Nabeshima ware is an exquisite and prestigious specially made porcelain produced at the Nabeshima-domain-kiln in okawachiyama under the patronage of the nabeshima clan of the saga domain in hizen province. This porcelain produced by the nabeshima-domain-kiln, the only imperial-kiln in japan, is a world class masterpiece of porcelain, far superior to old-kakiemon in its technical mastery, and has established an extremely high reputation. It is no exaggeration to say that the highest quality pieces are on par with those produced by the Jingdezhen-imperial-kiln in china. By offering nabeshima ware to the tokugawa shogunate in edo, the nabeshima clan demonstrated its loyalty and obedience. They were also given outside the domain to maintain friendly relations with other feudal lords. Nabeshima ware, unlike imari ware, was not intended for sale but rather as a gift to neighboring regions, so its producers gave no regard to profitability. It is also noteworthy that these kilns did not follow the convention of producing vessels for tea ceremonies, as most clans’ kilns did, but instead focused on practical works, mainly dishes. In the hizen region, pottery production areas were called “Yama”. In the nabeshima domain, the kiln used by the offerings were to fire pottery was called “Odougu-Yama（Nabeshima-Domain-Kiln）”. These kilns were also called “Tome-Yama”, which means the lord’s kiln, to show the utmost respect. In the nabeshima-domain-kiln, the most skillful craftsmen from other kilns in hizen province were called in to establish the nabeshima clan’s unique style of kilns under strict control and in an environment separated from other kilns. According to records from the end of the edo period, 31 potters produced 5,031 pieces per year. These kilns took strict precautions to prevent secret techniques from leaking, such as setting up gates at the entrances and exits and prohibiting the passage of unauthorized visitors. Records tell us that all craftsmen working here were allowed to have family names and carry swords and were exempt from paying any public fees. To reach the site of nabeshima-domain-kiln, which is about 5km north in a straight line from the center of arita town, one has to take a long detour, which is more than 8km long. Such an environment sufficiently isolated the nabeshima-domain-kiln from the outside. Production was modeled after the jingdezhen-kiln in china, with a division of labor by specialty, where each craftsman did his best. Even a single dish went through the hands of many craftsmen. It is said that extra pieces were made in case of breakage during transportation and that 20 pieces were offered at a time. In the peak period, the kilns consolidated the most sophisticated techniques and methods. Blue-and-white, celadon are also well known, but the most famous was “Iro-Nabeshima”. Iro-nabeshima is outlined in paint, glazed with transparent glaze, fired at high temperature（blue-and-white）, and overglazed within its frame with the primary colors of red, green, and yellow. This technique was based on the “Tousai” of the chenghua era（1465-87）of china’s ming dynasty. Because these works came from jingdezhen-imperial-kiln, the kilns could create highly sophisticated works without sparing any effort or regard for profit. The designs reflect japanese taste, departing from their chinese and korean influences, and feature unique and sophisticated designs centering on plants from the natural world. These works also draw inspiration from landscape paintings, noh costumes, and momoyama-edo period paintings. A typical vessel of this type is “Mokuhai-Shaped”. It features a high kodai（the bottom part that supports the vessel）made with a potter’s wheel. Kodai are thought to have taller bases than regular works from arita kilns to show their prestige. Many kodai works have a unique design called “Kushiba design（comb teeth design）” around the outer surface painted using blue-and-white. Generally, this technique was only allowed for the nabeshima-domain-kiln at that time and strictly forbidden in other kilns. In the peak period, these works employed a meticulous technique of painting inside the outlines drawn using blue-and-white. However, as time went on, the lines gradually became longer and the brushstrokes more disorganized, and a trend toward simplified, single line outlines gradually emerged. The works underwent several rigorous inspections by officers, and only those that passed were delivered to the clan, while any remaining rejected works were destroyed. The nabeshima-domain-kiln was dismantled in 1871 with the abolition of feudal domains and establishment of prefectures.

https://tenpyodo.com/en/dictionaries/nabeshima/

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Peak-Nabeshima

The peak-nabeshima was produced in the nabeshima-domain-kiln in the 1670-1730s. According to a letter issued in 1693 by the clan office in the name of 2th Mitsushige Nabeshima to the bureaucrats in charge of arita sarayama, orders were given to maintain strict control of offerings and strictly adhere to delivery deadlines, create innovative and excellent porcelain by incorporating good designs from wakiyama（a private kiln in arita）, rather than always using the same method, prohibit craftsmen from entering the wakiyama area to prevent leakage of techniques from clan owned kilns, destroy defective works within the kiln’s premises, bring in any exceptional craftsmen from the wakiyama area, dismiss any poorly performing craftsmen including those who have worked at the kiln for a long time, etc. This order led to a significant change in the style of nabeshima ware. In fact, if we look at the nabeshima ware designs from this period, we can see many that were used for a long time in the privately owned kilns of arita. The technique of painting the kodai, which is the base supporting the vessel, in a manner reminiscent of the comb teeth, was also used in wakiyama in the 1640-1650s in places such as the sarugawa-kiln, etc. It can be said that the technique perfected in the kakiemon-kiln, nangawara, kamanotsuji, etc. Appeared in a refined form in the peak-nabeshima, such as the technique of painting the inside of the outline in a blurred manner. Nabeshima ware, with its primary focus on pictorial designs and the introduction of techniques such as leaving the center blank, achieved unparalleled precision and perfection and was the pinnacle of japanese porcelain. Many of the typical iro-nabeshima are from this period that produced many technically demanding large dishes. The curves of the dish are also well proportioned and superbly balanced. The fact that kodai was more expensive than ordinary arita private kilns was meant to create a sense of prestige, and the design on the reverse side was mostly a combination of vertical lines in the shape of comb teeth and shippo design. Some rare works even gold color.