R90,000
A JAPANESE ARITA BLUE AND WHITE VOC DISH, EDO PERIOD, 1603 - 1867
The shallow dish painted in deep cobalt-blue with a Ho-o bird in flight above flowering camellia looking towards another Ho-o bird beneath two ripe pomegranates perched on a shaped rockery, all enclosing the initials of the Dutch East India Company, VOC, (Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie) monogrammed to the centre, the wide rim with a panelled border divided into six cartouches by bands painted with foliate scrolls, containing alternating sprays of prunus, bamboo and peonies
LITERATURE
cf. Christie's, Japanese Art at the English Court, Online Sale 5932, December 8 - 19, 2014, Lot 39
cf. William Fehr (1973) Treasures at the Castle of Good Hope, Board of Trustees William Fehr Collection, Cape Town, illustrated on page 56, fig. 66.
cf. CS Woodward (1974) Oriental Ceramics at the Cape of Good Hope 1652-1795, AA Balkema, Cape Town, illustrated on page 52, fig. 83
LOT ESSAY
With the collapse in 1644 of the Ming Dynasty in China, the source of Holland's abundant supply of Wanli blue and white 'Kraak' porcelain came to an end. To maintain supply of theses popular and profitable wares to the European markets, the Dutch East India Company turned to Japan for manufacture. Whilst maintaining the original Chinese 'Kraak' characteristics of a central floral or animal motif surrounded by a radiating segmented border, Japanese 'Kraak' dishes show some differences, particularly in the wider panels without the use of auspicious symbols, and in the depiction of the phoenix (ho-o birds) with their fanned-out tails.
Dishes with the VOC monogram are exemplars of East West relations in ceramics and the role the company played in them. No special mention is made of them in the trade documents, but it can be taken that they were commissioned for use by high-ranking Dutch officials at the factory on Deshima and possibly also in Batavia and other factories in Asia.
CONDITION REPORT
* Fine overall condition free from restoration
* Free from chips and hairline cracks
* Rough areas to foot and some kiln grit
* Areas of wear to overglaze
* Glaze scratches
* Extensive shelf-wear to the central exterior
* Minor firing irregularities
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