Stock No.16996
A rare 17th century Japanese blue and white vase dating to the early Edo Period (1603-1868). This vase is surviving evidence of the collaborative nature of porcelain decoration between Japan and the Netherlands in this period. The Dutch East India Company was known to occasionally export unfinished porcelain to be finished in the Netherlands in the 'oriental style'.
A piece of export ware, this vase was decorated in Japan in blue and white, with the intention of further Imari style decoration in enamels being added once it arrived in the Netherlands. It is extraordinarily rare to find partially decorated pieces such as these. Perhaps the firing cracks present made it impossible to re-fire with the enamels, and so remained undecorated. Examples of this practice can be found in the Metropolitan Museum and the British Museum.
Notes: During the early Edo period, the Dutch and Chinese were the only nations able to trade with Japan, as their shogun had imposed a policy of strict isolation. A small number of Dutch merchants were permitted to reside on an island outside Nagasaki, close to the Arita porcelain kilns and Imari port. The Dutch exposed the Japanese ceramicists to Chinese blue underglaze porcelain, and this technique was absorbed into the Japanese oeuvre and its influence can be seen in this vase.
Japanese, Arita kilns, Genroku period, c.1680.
From a private Dutch collection.
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Width |
Height |
Depth |
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13 3⁄8"
34 cms |
16 3⁄16"
41.2 cms |
13 3⁄8"
34 cms |
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