Kosometsuke Bowl with Decoration of Horses                           

Ming dynasty, Tianqi period (1621-1627)                 

Kosometsuke ware: porcelain painted in underglaze cobalt blue

Height: 5-7.5 cm, Diameter: 22.5-24.5 cm    

The lobed walls of this flat bowl rise gently from a thick foot-ring to a lobed rim. One side of the bowl is deliberately bent. The inside of the bowl is exquisitely painted with a very lyrical scene of four horses―one galloping and three standing in a group―against a ground of fukizumi (blown-ink). The lobed rim is highlighted in blue and mirrored by another blue band just below the rim. A blue line encircles the foot. The footrim is unglazed revealing the porcelain body.

The flat bowl is exceptional for its large size, powerful sculptural form, exquisitely painted design and glossy glaze, which marks it as a masterpiece of Kosometsuke ware. The idiosyncratic aesthetics and superb quality of this bowl suggest that it was especially ordered from Chinese potters by Japanese tea masters for use in the tea ceremony.

No other comparable bowl appears to be recorded. This exquisite bowl, with its exceptional presence, belongs to a small group of the largest and most significant masterpieces of Kosometsuke ware―embodying all the highest aesthetic qualities of this ware for use in the tea ceremony (chanoyu).