Page 54 - Christie's The Joseph Collection of Japanese Art

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A SHOKI IMARI DISH
EDO PERIOD (EARLY-MID 17TH CENTURY)
初期伊万里染付帰雁図皿
江戸時代（17世紀前中期）
The shallow circular dish with narrow everted rim on a small ringfoot, decorated in
underglaze blue with geese among reeds, circumferential lines to the rim
19.5 cm. diam.
£3,000-4,000 $5,100-6,700
€3,700-4,900

It has been said in Japan that geese come in the equinoctial week of autumn
and return north in the equinoctial week of the next spring. The wild goose
was a popular motif in Japanese works of art as well as Chinese. Although the
techniques used for shoki Imari are highly infuenced by Joseon dynasty Korea,
the designs were infuenced by China. The shoki Imari design of the wild geese’s
return trip that can be seen here is based on a Chinese dish design from the
end of the Ming dynasty (1368–1644). The reed was also a popular motif and
Ashihara no kuni [the country of reed plains] is one of the ancient names of Japan.
The design of geese and reeds was used from the early stage of shoki Imari and
later developed into the early coloured porcelain, Kokutani. For more about the
wild goose motif, see Ohashi Koji, Koimari no monyo: shoki Hizen jiki o chushin ni
[Designs of old Imari: mainly from Hizen ware], (Tokyo, 1994), p.142-143.
For similar examples, see:
Imaizumi Motosuke, Shoki-Arita to Kokutani [Early Arita and old Kutani], (Tokyo,
1974), pl. 3
Ohashi Koji, Ko-Imari no monyo: shoki Hizen jiki o chushin ni [Designs of old Imari:
mainly from Hizen ware], (Tokyo, 1994), p.95
Yamashita Sakuro, Ko-Imari sometsukezara [Old Imari dishes decorated in
underglazed blue], (Tokyo, 1970), p. 66-67, no. 27
(base)
Nihon Toji Kyokai, Tosetsu, no. 175, (Tokyo, October 1975), p. 13

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