TIANQI or CHONGZHEN c.1620 – 1640 Transitional Porcelain

A Ming Blue and White Porcelain Bowl Made for the Japanese Market, Tianqi or Chongzhen Period c.1620-1640. The Well Decorated with Lotus in Flower and Seed-head Growing in a Large Square Plant Pot Flanked by Two Diminutive Pots. The Base is Unglazed.
SOLD

Condition
In good condition, the rim with mushikui fritting and small glaze chips.
Size
Diameter : 14 cm (5 1/2 inches)
Provenance
From a Private English Collection of Chinese and Japanese Blue and White Porcelain.
Stock number
24119

Photos

Information

Ming Porcelain for Japan :
During the late Ming Period the Chinese made a large among of porcelain for the Japanese market, it was made from the Wanli period (1573-1620) and ended in the Chongzhen period (1628-1644), the main period of production being the 1620`2 and 1630`s. The porcelain objects produced were made especially for the Japanese market, both the shapes and the designs were tailored to Japanese taste, the production process too allowed for Japanese aesthetics to be included in the finished object. Its seams firing faults were added, repaired tears in the leather-hard body were too frequent to not, in some cases, be deliberate. These imperfections as well as the fritting Mushikui (insect-nibbled) rims and kiln grit on the footrims all added to the Japanese aesthetic. The shapes created were often expressly made for the Japanese tea ceremony meal, the Kaiseki, small dishes for serving food at the tea ceremony are the most commonly encountered form. Designs, presumably taken from Japanese drawings sent to China, are very varied, often using large amount of the white porcelain contrasting well with the asymmetry of the design.