Ninsei: takara-bune (treasure boat), enamelled ware

Ninsei: takara-bune (treasure boat), enamelled ware
Ninsei: takara-bune (treasure boat), enamelled ware
Ninsei: takara-bune (treasure boat), enamelled ware

Height 66.1 cm, length 53.4 cm, Fujita Museum of Art
 Although Insei left behind a considerable number of incense burners with carved birds and beasts, pure figurines are rare. This treasure ship is the largest example of Insei’s color pottery, and is an ornament made as a gekijo (a boat with a gibbet at the head of a gondola). The sail is gilded in purple with a silver flame with a crystal ball at the end, and the sail is ceramic with a pine, bamboo, plum and crane design on the front, attached to the sail post. The boat is of truly elegant workmanship, with a chrysanthemum perforation on the boat girder and a cloisonne motif below. It is said to have once belonged to the Maeda family of Kaga, and although it is unmarked, it is thought to have been made by Omuroyaki.

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