Octagonal Bowl with Auspicious Chinese Themes and Sages

Aoki Mokubei Japanese

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 231

The Kyoto potter and painter Aoki Mokubei created tea wares that engaged with the Chinese practice of revisiting things of the past, such as legends of sages and deities of good fortune. This bowl can be seen as an emulation of another culture, with the auspicious Chinese iconographies, including dragons, cranes, turtles, playful Chinese boys (karako), and objects referencing learning and felicitous treasures. Related themes were central to Edo-period literati culture.

Octagonal Bowl with Auspicious Chinese Themes and Sages, Aoki Mokubei (Japanese, 1767–1833), Porcelain with polychrome overglaze and gold decoration (Kyoto ware), Japan

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