A Tianqi 1621 - 1627 Ko-sometsuke Blue and White Porcelain Dish.
Tianqi 1621-1627
A Tianqi Ko-sometsuke Porcelain Dish 1621 - 1627. This unusual early 17th century Ming blue and dish was made for the Japanese market, to be used in the Tea Ceremony. It appears to depict a rocky island or perhaps a boat. The background has somewhat surreal tree topped mountains. Ko-sometsuke and Ko-akai : Ming Porcelain Made For Japan Both of these terms Japanese refer to Chinese porcelain made for the Japanese market, they are pieces that were used for the Japanese tea ceremony or closely associated with it. Ko-sometsuke is a term used to describe Chinese blue and white porcelain made for Japan, while Ko-akai refers to the porcelain decorated with enamels. This late Ming porcelain was made from the Wanli period (1573-1620), through the Tianqi period (1621 - 1627) ending in the Chongzhen period (1628-1644), the main period of production being the 1620'2 and 1630's. The porcelain made in China for Japanese reflected a rise in interest of the Japanese tea ceremony, but it also coincided with the beginning of porcelain production in Japan (from c.1610/20). The porcelain objects produced in China 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 seems 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 fritted Mushikui (insect-nibbled) rims and kiln grit on the footrims all added to the Japanese aesthetic. These imperfections were something to be treasured by the Japanese, they reflect an imperfect world and the aesthetics of Wabi-Sabi. These 'faults' was an anathema to the Chinese, but they went along with it to satisfy the needs of their Japanese customers. The shapes created were often expressly made for the Japanese tea ceremony, especially the meal associated with tea drinking, 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, these are very varied and often extremely imaginative. They often used large amount of the white porcelain contrasting well with the asymmetry of the design, sometime the Chinese couldn't help themselves but to fill in these gaps with 'excess' decoration. Many other forms were made, among them are charcoal burners, water pots, Kōgō  (incense box) as well as variously shaped dishes in the form of fish, fruit or familiar country animals.  See Below For More Photographs and Information.
View details
Buying Antique Ceramics From Robert McPherson Antiques Read more

New Items

See all new items
Robert McPherson Antiques Specialist in Oriental Ceramics

WELCOME TO OUR WEBSITE We hope you find it easy to navigate and enjoy looking at what we have on offer. As well as the objetcs we have for sale, we offer a selection of scholary pages to inform you about the different subjects concerning Oriental Ceramics. We pride ourselves on offering genuine pieces of rare and unusual Chinese and Japanese porcelain and pottery. Everything we sell is guaranteed to be in the condition we describe it as on the website and on the invoice. If you have any questions please get in contact with us. We also have a mailing list that you can subscribe to. You will receive a newsletter when the website is updated. Regards, Robert McPherson.

About us
Newsletter Sign up for the newsletter