PLATE XXVIII.
KAGA CERAMICS (Kutani factories)
by George Ashdown Audsley.
A — Large bottle of Kaga ware, of drab tinted pate, relieved with white linework, and covered with a thin bright varnish, crackled. The decoration is, for the most part, executed in transparent enamel colours, which allow the white lines of the ground to be seen through them. The red, black, white, and dark blue enamels, however, are opaque. The geometrical patterns, which ornament the lower part of the body and the neck, are well chosen, and arranged very effectively. The body is painted with a series of aged figures, walking amidst trees and flowers. Height, 19 inches. In the possession of Joseph Beck, Esq.
B — Vase of Kaga ware, of similar manufacture to the above piece, painted with figures of warriors, flowers, and conventional designs, in transparent and opaque coloured enamels, and gold sparingly used. Height, 13 inches.
C — Vase of drab tinted Kaga ware, as above, but decorated in a more solid style. The greater part of the body is grounded with red, upon which are placed green scrollwork and four overlapping medallions containing flowers. Round the lower portion is the water-leaf border so commonly found in the decorations of Kaga ware. The neck is zoned with bands of blue, red, and green, enriched with diapers and scrollwork; and upon these bands are two cusped medallions, containing birds and flowers. The bell is fringed with a simple design, and edged with a zig-zag of gold lines on a fret groundwork. Height, 14; inches.
In the Keramic Collection at South Kensington Museum.
Superordinate: History of Kutani ceramic. Kaga, Japan.
Source: Keramic art of Japan by George Ashdown Audsley (1838-1925); Lord James Bowes (1834-1899). London : H. Sotheran & co. 1881.
