Footed Dish

The designs on these dishes convey positive wishes. A spray of bamboo symbolizes honesty, longevity, and integrity. Arrangements of peonies float on stylized waves, celebrating social stability and prosperity. Snowflakes represent a bountiful harvest as snow brings water that helps plants to grow. The wares were made for the feudal lord of the Nabeshima clan from Kyushu, who customarily presented them as gifts to the ruling class. 

Here, the skill and knowledge of Korean porcelain potters meets Japanese design. These asymmetrical designs rendered on semi-translucent porcelain embody a pivotal moment in ceramic production in Japan in the 1600s.

In 1592 and 1598, Japanese troops invaded Korea. The lords who participated in the invasion forced skilled Korean potters to move to Kyushu Island, near the Korean peninsula. There, the potters discovered deposits of kaolin clay (the soft, white mineral essential for making porcelain) in the early 1600s and established the kilns and workshops that ignited porcelain production in Japan.