Dish with a design of mandarin oranges, Nabeshima ware
Data
| Period | Edo period, late 17th - early 18th century |
|---|---|
| Materials and techniques | Porcelain with underglaze blue and overglaze enamels |
| Size | H.7.9 D.30.3 BD.15.2 |
Explanation
This is an excellent example of a large Nabeshima dish magnificently decorated over the entire interior surface with an auspicious motif of a mandarin orange tree bearing fruit. The thick, strong trunk of the tree is drawn and washed uniformly in underglaze blue, while the numerous ripened oranges are painted yellow and outlined in red, and the leaves are expressed in varying tones of green and yellow-green, all fired to beautiful colors. Though the motif was taken from a model book published at the time, the talented painter has refined it to a most elegant design.