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

IV - European ceramics imitate the Imari originals

It was not until 17th century that the first white hard porcelain was successfully fired in Europe. Since the 16th century Europeans had been importing and greatly valued porcelains fired in the Jingdezhen kilns in China. East Asian porcelain of high quality was distributed throughout Europe and proved a stimulus for European potters and artisans.
Potters in Delft, Holland produced a soft paste ceramic that derived inspiration from Chinese and Hizen porcelains.
The Kakiemon style produced from the 1670s to the 1690s garnered a significant reputation in Europe. Johann Friedrich Böttger succeeded in firing a type of hard paste porcelain in 1709 under the patronage of Augustus the Strong, Elector of Saxony. Augustus the Strong’s Meissen kilns skillfully copied Kakiemon style porcelains in the following decades.
Porcelain making techniques were introduced quickly into the Meissen kilns and then spread to the other areas of Europe. Porcelain production became widespread by the latter half of the 18th century. This period directly coincided with the cessation of export of Imari ware to Europe. Chinese porcelain continued to be imported to Europe but also stopped by the end of the 18th century. This was a beginning of the new era with new varieties of porcelain, which made reference to East Asian prototypes, and yet created new European generated designs.