Asia in the Mirror: Exhibition Photograph 05

Creator

Cantor Art Gallery

Caption

Photography credit: Paula Rosenblum

Preview

Exhibition Opening Date

9-1-2021

Description

Colored Imari Porcelain Plate
Ca. 1660 - 1750, Japan
Porcelain (Imari ware)
Gift of Frank A. Gallagher III ’32

As early as the 1610s, artisans in Hizennokuni (present-day Nagasaki and Saga prefectures in Southern Japan) were known for their production of brightly colored porcelain, specifically for the European export trade. These items – ranging from miniature jars to plates that are 30 inches in width – were shipped from the port of Imari, where both the Dutch East India Company and Chinese merchants had trading outposts. Central to this plate is a striking Chrysanthemum motif that signifies the highest forms of purity and grace in the traditional Japanese cultural milieu. Around the central motif are dragons and phoenixes, as well as the Imperial Seal of Japan (Jūrokuha yaeomotekiku) all displayed on top of repetitive geometric and vegetal patterns.

Japanese Plate for the Commemoration of the Dutch in Japan
Ca. 1660 - 1750, Japan
Porcelain (Imari ware
Gift of Frank A. Gallagher III ’32

This gilded variant of Imari ware was popular in the Netherlands during the eighteenth century. At the center of the plate is a three-masted Dutch ship called a carrack, sailing in the offshore waters of Japan. The carrack is surrounded by coats of arms, Dutch merchants, and smaller carracks on a gilt floral ground. For decades, the coats of arms were attributed to the Portuguese Brandão family, but recent research shows that they were of preeminent Van der Meij family in Dordrecht, Netherlands. Although both China and Japan imposed a self-isolation policy in the mid-17th century, the Japanese granted a monopoly on maritime trade to the Netherlands. The Dutch therefore became the only single conduit by which other European countries could purchase Imari ware.

Japanese Plate Ca. 17th - 18th century, Japan
Porcelain (Kutani ware)
Gift of Frank A. Gallagher III ’32

This flamboyant Kutani plate in the Mokubei style exhibits the influence of Chinese bird-and-flower painting techniques. Against the bright background of a cherry tree in full bloom, a peacock perches on a rock, its tail feathers gloriously arrayed while the second peacock looks upwards towards her flamboyant companion. In Japanese art, peacocks have religious and auspicious symbolism. To Japanese Buddhists, peacocks not only safely consume the poisonous plants and snakes that would harm humans but also steer the faithful away from evil. Because of the multiplicity of “eyes” on their tail feathers, Peacocks are used to represent fecundity and wealth.