Decorative Objects
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Ogata Kenzan (Japanese, 1663-1743) Bowl with Reticulated Rim Japan, Kyoto Prefecture Edo period (1600-1868), early 18th century Stoneware with pierced design and painted with slips, underglaze and overglaze enamels, and gold (Kyoto ware) H. 4 7/8 in. (11 cm); Diam. 7 1/2 in. (19.1 cm) Asia Society, New York: Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection, 1979.252 |
This lovely bowl was made by Ogata Kenzan, who was known as a literary scholar, a skilled painter and calligrapher, and above all a master ceramist. He translated the creativity of painting and calligraphy into ceramics. The semi-abstract, vibrant-hued designs of Kenzan�s works often parallel Rinpa school painting, with which he was familiar because his older brother Ogata Korin (1658–1716) was a leading painter of the school.
On this bowl, white glaze coats the upper part and transparent glaze coats the lower part of the clay body, dividing the space into two realms. Green bamboo designs and black lines representing the riverbank are painted over the glaze and decorate both the interior and the exterior. Wild geese sketched in gold pigment fly around the rim. On the bottom of the base is a signature of the artist "Kenzan," the style of which indicates that this piece was made around 1712.
