A mid 17th century Early Enamelled (iroe) Arita Ko-Kutani type non-biscuit (namagake) porcelain bowl vibrantly enamelled with a butterfly in flight amidst flowering peonies
 
Arita kiln, Early Enamelled ware, Ko Kutani type or an early enamellers workshop, Hizen province, Japan
early Edo period (mid 17th century)
circa 1650
 
Decorated with a butterfly in flight amidst flowering peonies in a vibrant palette of aubergine, rich emerald green, dark yellow and opaque red with black outling, with a superb asymmetrical use of blank space, epitomizing the Japanese Beauty of Emptiness (yohaku no bi). The reverse undecorated.
 
The coloured palette is traditionally associated with the early enamelled wares of the town of Kutani. Though it was previously thought that this type of Japanese porcelain was made at the Old Kutani kilns in Enuma County, it is now accepted that this thinly potted shallow circular bowl was made in the middle of the 17th century in the Arita kilns. We can now call this type of early Japanese porcelain "Arita porcelain of Ko-Kutani type".
 
With a Japanese paulownia wood storage box and ribbon tie.
 
Measurements
16.5 cm diameter, 4.5 cm high
 
Condition
In perfect original condition with no damages or restoration.
 
A vibrant 17th C early enamelled Ko-Kutani type Arita bowl with butterfly c1650