Imari ware plate from Japan
Object No. 2005/201/92
Decorated in the Imari style, this porcelain plate was made in Japan in the late nineteenth century. Its restrained design and profuse gilding are unusual for Japanese wares, suggesting that the piece was made for export to the Europe. Interest in Japanese porcelain escalated in Europe from the 1640s when Dutch and Chinese cargo ships imported a range of oriental goods. English porcelain factories copied these wares from the 1760s though developed their own range of enamel and gilt motifs in the Japanese style. Popular into the early nineteenth century, these items were produced by Derby, Worcester and many other porcelain factories. A note on the reverse of this plate suggests that a similar pattern was produced by Chelsea.
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Summary
Object Statement
Plate, Imari ware, porcelain, Japan, Edo period / Meiji era, 1800-1870
Physical Description
A scalloped plate made in hard-paste porcelain decorated with on-glaze enamel colours over a cobalt blue underglaze. The central reserve features a design of chrysanthemums and other foliage. Surrounding the plate are richly gilt reserves, some with chrysanthemum and cherry blossom designs. The raised sides of the plate also feature the same design. An adhesive label is applied to the base and features hand-written text describing the item's provenance. Plate marked.
DIMENSIONS
Height
41 mm
Diameter
250 mm
PRODUCTION
Notes
This plate was made in Japan in the nineteenth century and was decorated in the Imari styles. The blue under-glaze details combined with over-glaze enamel colours and rich gilding.
HISTORY
Notes
This porcelain plate was transferred to the Powerhouse Museum in 1998 as part of the collection that Annie Maria Gillies (Mrs Sinclair Gillies) bequeathed to the Art Gallery of New South Wales in 1953. The collection consisted of around 191 objects, including important examples of eighteenth-century English furniture and porcelain. The Gallery sold the majority of the collection in 1997 and transferred a portion to the Powerhouse Museum. A hand-written label on the back of this plate reads: 'At Pelworth House there is a Chelsea service exactly similar in design, with a patterned Japanese plate from which it was copied. The service is very superior to the pattern, especially in colour'.
SOURCE
Credit Line
Bequest of Annie Maria Gillies 1953, transferred from the Historic Houses Trust of NSW 1998
Acquisition Date
16 September 2005
Copyright for the above image is held by the Powerhouse and may be subject to third-party copyright restrictions. Please submit an Image Licensing Enquiry for information regarding reproduction, copyright and fees. Text is released under Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivative licence.
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