Bowl with, enamelled ware

Both of these bowls are so-called “chrysanthemum bowls” with a 33-petaled flower-ring shape at the mouth. This bowl is also a typical example of the Kakiemon style, with a richly rounded body. The style of this bowl suggests that it was made before the early Genroku period (1688-1704), but it is also likely that a pure white rimmed flower bowl ordered by the head of a Dutch trading house in 1684 may have been of this type. The bowl with peony design in overglaze enamels shows a design of peony and flowers on the outside, peony, boxwood, and plum on the inside, and a dragon design on the prospective side. The base of the bowl with lotus poppy design on iron wire in overglaze enamels is a little more lightly fired than the previous one, but the shape of the bowl with 33-petaled flowers is thought to have been made using the same mold. The difference in the firing process may be the difference in the quality of the base. The outer surface is decorated with a lotus design and the inner surface with an arabesque peony design, but the painting is somewhat old-fashioned.