Dish with Figure

Dish with Figure

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

A lone figure is loosely drawn in cobalt blue on the blank white clay, covered in a transparent glaze. The free style of painting and the empty background of this dish reflect compositional elements found throughout Japanese art. The grainy quality of the surface was probably the potter's intention, since a rustic style was fashionable at the time this was made. This dish is classified as early Imari, the type of Japanese porcelain produced in the first half of the seventeenth century, primarily for the domestic market. Early Imari was the first porcelain produced in Japan, and was made in the Arita region of the island of Kyushu, then shipped to the rest of the country from the port of Imari. The exact year when porcelain was first made in Japan in still debated, but it was most likely in the 1610s. Since this work dates from around 1620, it is a very early example of Japanese porcelain. Early works such as this were not mass produced and were presumably expensive to make, so they were considered luxury items.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Dish with FigureDish with FigureDish with FigureDish with FigureDish with Figure

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.