Information

Presentation

Sections:
I. The origins and the
development of Imari
porcelain
II Porcelain for the
aristocracy and the
european courts
III Imari masterpieces for
the european market
IV European ceramics
imitate the Imari originals

List of works

Photo selection
of works
in exhibition

Photos of
exhibition's room

Making
porcelain
in Arita

Jiki. Japanese porcelain between
East and West. 1610-1760
26 June - 7 November

II - Porcelain for the japanese aristocracy and the european courts

The Tokugawa Shogun was the highest authority in Japan during the Edo period. The Nabeshima family, lords of the Saga domain in Hizen Province, presented annual tribute goods (kenjô-hin) consisting of Nabeshima porcelains for dining, the finest produced in the domain, to the Shogun to ensure a stable relationship and help maintain the autonomy of their domain. Reflecting the Japanese culinary customs of the period, the Shogun would have eaten with chopsticks from dishes that most commonly took the form of small wooden bowls placed on small individual trays with legs.
Around the same period, the Dutch East India Company placed ordered with Hizen potters to create porcelains that could complement the lifestyles of the kings of Europe. Contrary to Japanese customs, Europeans used knifes when eating, which made the flat dish with a flaring rim the most efficient form of vessel. Bowls were also employed to hold fruits and sweets. In addition, different concepts of space and rooms used in Europe and Japan created the need for different styles of porcelains. One of the most dramatic examples is the armature set composed of five large jars and vases covered with sumptuous decorations to visually decorate European palaces. Europeans decorated their rooms with symmetrically arranged sets of large jars and vases, and affluent rulers sought after splendidly decorated jars and ornamented vases. Japanese houses, to the contrary, were traditionally built of wood and had quite low ceilings, thus there was no custom in Japan of displaying large objects inside a home. The deeply rooted Japanese aesthetic of ma, which implies absence or space, or spatial tension rather than emptiness, coupled with an appreciation for asymmetry (called at the time kabuku) were aesthetic qualities that came to the fore during this period.
Different uses of space and aesthetics in the east and in the west are clearly reflected on Hizen porcelain designs. Europeans preferred the ceramic surfaces filled with colour and motifs, while the Japanese preferred to leave ample amounts of white ground surrounding asymmetrically placed designs.