Imari porcelain

Imari porcelain (Japanese伊万 里 焼, Imari - yaki, usual:有 田 焼, Arita- yaki ) denotes Japanese porcelain from the area of ​​Arita, which is assigned according to the classification of ceramic bodies of the group of hard porcelain.

Naming

The name of this porcelain traced back to the located near Arita Imari small harbor, were taken from where the goods to Nagasaki for the establishment of the Dutch East India Company. Arita Imari and are in the area of today's Saga Prefecture in the north of the island of Kyūshū.

Coloring

Three colors dominate called "Old Imari " ( ko - Imari ) in the livery of the traditional Imari porcelain in Japan: cobalt blue, rust red, with a discount to saffron and white base. The whole is emphasized by the use of gold. The painted decoration is mainly floral pattern, next to motifs from the animal world and the minerals. The brocade effect took many lovers at European courts. The Japanese porcelain painters showed a lot of imagination and freedom in designing the motifs. They knew how to divide the area original and daring, asymmetrical compositions.

Historical development

The manufacture of porcelain began in Japan in 1616 in the area on the island of Kyūshū. According to tradition, it was a Korean named Ri Sampei (Korean Sam - I pyeong ), who was kidnapped during the Imjin War, along with thousands of other Korean artists to Japan to exploit one located near kaolin deposits at the foot of the hill Izumiyama. Through his mastery of high temperature furnaces, he managed to melt kaolin at a temperature of 1400 ° C and therefore hard-paste porcelain similar to the Chinese porcelain manufacture. This meant the end of a monopoly that had existed for more than seven centuries.

It was a Dresden, Zacharias Wagner, who discovered this porcelain for Europe. Wagner had taken over as chief merchant of the Dutch East India Company ( Verenigde Dutch East India Company ) in 1656 for a year directing the establishment of Dejima in Nagasaki. The Chinese porcelain exports from Jingdezhen (景 徳 镇Chinese, Japanese Keitokuchin ) were due to the ongoing fighting in the south between supporters of the Ming Dynasty collapsed in 1644 and the troops of the new Qing dynasty came to a virtual standstill. Therefore, the company sought from the Middle to the Far East for alternative sources of supply. Wagner, who had become aware of the high quality of the burned in Arita porcelain was to establish some patterns that were observed in Batavia. In its second cycle in Japan, he gave in 1659 to the first major order. More orders followed, and stimulated a sudden expansion of production capacity as well as an increase in quality. Even after the re-emergence of the Chinese production Japanese Imari goods were shipped to 1757 in large quantities to Europe.

The Dutch and their customers exerted a strong influence on the motives. Gradually, a style began to emerge, which served primarily the expectations of aristocratic clientele, put the emphasis on pageantry.

Middle of the 17th century developed in Arita same time two other styles: the Kakiemon and the Iro - Nabeshima - style. The latter owes its name to the Princely House Nabeshima, on whose territory lay the kaolin and porcelain manufactories. The Iro - Nabeshima porcelains were originally fired only for the use of the dynasty. The Sakaida of Kakiemon (酒井 田 柿 右卫门, 1596-1666 ) developed Kakiemon style is maintained by his descendants to this day. It is characterized by an exceptionally fine color palette ( persimmon orange, yellow, blue, turquoise, etc.) and on a white background applied ornamentation.

Because of their high quality as well as the price of the Imari porcelains were widely copied. First, by the Chinese, after they had taken towards the end of the 17th century their production going again. In this case one speaks sometimes of the " Chinese Imari ".

In Europe, the first experiments on ceramics took place, as in Delft ( Delft gold). After the discovery of the production technology of porcelain by Johann Friedrich Böttger Japanese motifs appeared then on the products of Meissen. This was followed by the manufactory in Vienna, French manufactories in Bayeux, Isigny and the beginning of 19th century Paris. In the 20th century Limoges also can not resist the allure of Imari porcelain.

But it was mainly the English, in which Imari motifs towards the end of the 18th century have been extensively received and developed, especially in the factories of Staffordshire. In the following century a wealth of motifs in the style of a tradition that developed in close cooperation for the common form of treasure of East and West was born.

Chinese Imari ( mid 18th century )

Arita, Japan (18th century)

English Imari, Crown Derby (19th Century )