Height 17.5cm, Body diameter 24.6cm
This is a tea kettle made of porcelain in overglaze enamels. This is a rare example of a tea kettle, and a masterpiece with the elegance of Nabeshima porcelain in overglaze enamels.
The kettle has a neat appearance, modeled after a shingata kettle, but it does not have a steamer. The body and the bottom are wheel-thrown and then joined by the wings, but the overall shape is slightly thicker than a tea kettle. The entire inside and outside of the pot is covered with a transparent glaze with a slight bluish tinge, leaving a smooth glaze surface around the bottom. The bottom of the exposed body has fifty-four small needle marks in a circular pattern, indicating that it was carefully fired without distortion.
On the front of the body, a tea tree, two ladies and a child picking tea leaves are depicted in underglaze blue and underglaze blue, while clouds and a castle are depicted in underglaze blue with a brush. The reverse side of the kettle shows only tea trees and clouds as well. The color scheme of the overglaze overglaze painting, which is mainly light green, and the use of gold paint for the outline of the lady and the belt, are both exquisite. This is probably another specially prepared example. It may have originally been made with a lid, or as a single piece with a wind furnace. The bottom of the pot is certainly made by the Okawachi kiln, and it was probably made before the Genroku era (1688-1704).
