Large bowl with design of peonies and butterfly surrounded by linked
Important Cultural Property
Height 8.5cm, Bowl diameter 40.5cm, Base diameter 20.9cm, Umezawa Memorial Museum
This is the most splendid example of a large bowl with peony design. It is also extremely valuable as a symbol of Ko-Kutani style color painting. A large flower and bud are shown in the foreground, a butterfly perches in the shade of a leaf, and another flies around the flower. The composition is more dynamic than that of Fig. 5, with a more decorative design of twelve motifs of tortoiseshell mesh with gauze and butterflies on the inside of the rim. The bowl is a rather deep flat bowl with a rounded waist, a bowed mouth, and a low, raised rim, and a rather large base. The bowl is decorated with a peony arabesque with flowers on three sides and painted in purple and dark blue on the outside. The inside of the stand is inscribed “FUKU” in a double square, and the top is painted in navy blue.
