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Kakiemon
A type of Arita ware, Kakiemon is a delicate porcelain with a distinctive palette. The name is derived from a family of potters and enamellers working in Arita, who are traditionally believed to have introduced overglaze enamelling on porcelain to Japan in the 1640s. The extremely fine, milky-white body (nigoshide) was believed to have been exclusive to the Kakiemon kiln, although this is now disputed. Wares include small dishes, bottles, bowls, and vases, many of which are of geometric form.
DECORATION AND FORMS
Although the Kakiemon kilns produced blue-andwhite porcelain, they are generally associated with wares expertly painted in a palette of iron-red, cerulean-blue, turquoise-green, yellow, aubergine, and gold. These delicate porcelains form a counterpoint to the heavier Imari wares.
Often asymmetrical, the designs enhance
the milky-white body of the best Arita porcelain. Kakiemon wares are usually painted with natural themes: birds in branches, flying squirrels, the “quail and millet” design, the “Three
Friends of Winter” (pine, prunus, and bamboo), trailing flowers, and banded hedges. Human subjects are rare; some have been given titles such as the “Woman and the Nightingale” and the “Hob in the Well”, the latter a design based on the story of a Chinese sage who saved his friend who had fallen into a large fishbowl.
The chrysanthemum, the national flower of Japan, is a very common form for
Kakiemon wares, as is the pointed bracket-shape. Many Arita wares, especially the Kakiemon type, are hexagonal or octagonal in form. An iron-brown dressing (fuchi-beni) was applied to the edges of many Kakiemon porcelains to embellish them and to protect the rims from being chipped; this was probably introduced around the mid-17th century, following the example set by Chinese potters. Kakiemon porcelain was arguably the most influential Japanese porcelain in Europe; after it was exported to Europe at the end of the 17th century, the forms and decoration were copied by many major factories including Meissen, Saint Cloud,Chantilly, Chelsea, and Bow.
• BODY a pure milky-white (nigoshide)
• GLAZE almost colourless
• PALETTE iron red, cerulean blue, turquoise, brown, yellow, and gold; black is used for detailing; iron-
brown edges (fuchi-beni) are typical
• FORMS geometric; dishes are hexagonal, octagonal, or decagonal
• DECORATION mainly flower motifs and only rarely figures; asymmetrical and sparse; popular patterns include the “quail and millet”, the “Three Friends of Winter” (pine, bamboo, and prunus), banded hedges, flying squirrels, and the ho-ho bird (phoenix)
• COPIES made in many European factories from the end of the 18th century, including Meissen, Chantilly, Saint Cloud, Chelsea, and Bow

Korea’s close proximity to China has resulted in a marked Chinese influence in its ceramic production, ev ident in both the forms and the techniques used by potters. However, Korea has also produced stonewares and porcelains unique to its culture.
THE SILLA AND KORYO PERIODS
During the Silla kingdom (57 BC—AD 935) ceramic production in Korea consisted of grey- or brownish-bodied stonewares of distinctive architectonic form. Tall vessels with hemispherical bowls on an elongated spreading foot were decorated with geometric
windows and incised bands. Bowls were decorated with punched circlets, small repeated motifs, scratched geometric patterns, and, occasionally, animals or humans. Drawing inspiration from the Yue wares of south-eastern China, Korean potters developed celadon wares during the Koryo period (918-1392). Even if some of the forms are noticeably Chinese, there is almost always a distinctive Korean feel to them.
The green glaze is of a subtle tonality akin to the colour of the famous Ru wares of the northern Song Dynasty. However, er, the sangam celadons, which are painstakingly inlaid with black-and-white clays, are unique to Korea. A wide range of objects was made, including large blossom vases, ritual water ewers, and tiny covered boxes. Porcelain was also produced, albeit in very limited quantities, during the Koryo period.
CHOSON DYNASTY (1392-1910)
Developed from the sangam celadons of the Koryo period are the robust and often crude punch’ong wares, a greyish-green celadon-type stoneware made for about the first 200 years of the dynasty. Production ceased at the time of the invasion of Korea by the Japanese leader Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1592-8). The wares are decorated by stamping and washing through with slip. Decoration may feature tiny repeated motifs, flower-heads, or scrolls. Korean wares are generally very heavily potted with a curiously sticky glaze. The greyish-green glaze is thin, translucent, and mostly crackled, and it occasionally flakes. Choson whitewares were made throughout the period; earlier wares were often plain white, although many pieces can be painted in underglaze copper red, iron brown, or blue. Bulbous forms, often with faceted sides, are characteristic of the later Choson period, as are pierced vessels such as brushpots, pipe rests, and waterpots.
Early stoneware
• BODY dull dark grey or brown; potting tends to be very thick, and there is strong tendency for the items to warp
• FORMS “architectural”
• TYPES funerary wares
• DECORATION pierced and incised; often geometric patterns, rarely figures
celadon
• BODY generally a distinctive greyish blue-green like the classic Ru ware of the northern Song Dynasty
• GLAZE of greyish-olive tone; usually irregular; frequently crackled
• IDENTIFICATION celadon wares were fired on gritty kiln supports, often leaving crude patches on the underside of the foot-rim
• DECORATION the miniaturized inlay technique (sangam), using black-and-white clay, is unique to Korea
Porcelain
• BODY heavily potted; sometimes large pieces are warped or cracked; pierced and carved wares of the 18th and 19th centuries are very sophisticated
• GLAZE bluish or greenish irregularly crackled glaze
• DECORATION most common is the dragon; also cranes, tigers, and other animals
Marks
Most ceramics are unmarked before the late 19th century