A Rare Large Transitional Porcelain Winepot Made for the Japanese Market c.1635 – 1650.

A rare very large Transitional porcelain winepot made for the Japanese market, late Ming, Chongzhen Period (1628 – 1644) or early Qing, Shunzhi (1644-1661 Period) c.1635-1650. Decorated in bright enamels with a diaper-ground with two panels, one of flowering prunus, the other perhaps tree-peony. The unglazed base is of a shallow concave form.

SOLD

Condition
The spout has been crudely restuck and the top of the handle terminal has a crack which appears to be an extension of a firing crack.
Size
Height : 19.4 cm (7 3/4 inches) Length : 24.5 cm (9 1/2 inches).
Provenance
N/A
Stock number
126

Photos

Information

Wucai :
Wucai means five coloured decoration. This consists of the overglaze enamel colours ; red, green, and yellow, underglaze cobalt blue and the white of the porcelain itself.

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.