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Rare Iro Nabeshima Gourd-Shaped Sake Bottle browse these categories for related items... All Items: Archives:Regional Art:Asian:Japanese: Pre 1900: item # 608771 Please refer to our stock # 2C-396 when inquiring.
B & C Antiques P. O. Box 291 Derby, CT 06418 203-929-7312 Guest Book SOLD |
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Potted in the form of an upright gourd with lobed sides and a small tubular mouth, this important iro (colored) Nabeshima porcelain bottle vase or tokkuri (sake bottle) is wonderfully decorated with foliage in low relief and hand painted with soft enamels. We believe this piece dates to the mid-late 19th century, although it is quite possible that it is earlier. Encircling the shoulder and running over the sides is a flowering vine with leaves and gourds picked out in richly colored overglaze enamels in shades of blue, green, yellow, iron red and gold with some outlining in black. The smooth unglazed base has a button in the center. Nabeshima porcelain was made at Okawachi, north of Arita, and was named after the prince who founded the kilns at the end of the 17th century. The porcelain was of much higher quality than that made for export and was originally made as presentation ware for the local nobility. Production was limited, and less than perfect specimens were destroyed. From 1868 on, Nabeshima wares were produced for domestic use and Western export. The motifs found on Nabeshima wares were usually simple, naturalistic and structurally bold. It is quite rare to find examples of Nabeshima porcelain in forms other than dishes, and this important bottle is well represented in major collections. Similar examples can be found in the Baur Collection (see Plate E-119 of the Baur Catalog); the Oriental Ceramics Society Exhibition Catalog “Japanese Porcelain”, London 1956; and page 186 in “Japanese Porcelain 1800-1950” by Nancy Schiffer. CONDITION is excellent; normal glaze crazing. DIMENSIONS: 8 ¾” (22.1 cm) high, 4 ½” (11.3 cm) diameter. |
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