In 1650, The Dutch East India Company, opened the doors of Europe to the export of Japanese porcelain. Most of this early export porcelain was decorated as blue and white, much favored by the Dutch and still widely collected in the Netherlands today.
The Japanese Emperor had granted the Dutch a concessional trading port and factory to meet the growing demand for Japanese ceramics. These export kilns were situated at Arita in Japan's Hizen province. Not far from Arita was the great trading port of Imari. All export to the West left Japan through this port and it was from here that the famous Japanese Imari porcelain takes its name. This relationship is quite often missed, leading to much Japanese porcelain being attributed to "The Imari" factory.
As the export trade increased, the demand for new shapes and colours grew, leading to the bright Imari patterns that are so distinctively recognised today. These patterns were in fact, derived from the sometimes identical patterns found in Japanese textiles and brocade.
A standard range of colours make up the traditional palette of Imari decoration. Rich cobalt blue combines with deep iron red to produce the basic colours. These colours can then be embellished with pale blue, yellow, aubergine, greens and black. These brightly coloured Imari porcelains were very popular with the Europeans of the 18th and 19th centuries, with their bright brocade-like colours cheering up the long, dark days of winter.
Imari patterned porcelain is still as popular as ever, although it's functional use has changed in modern times from table wares to a more decorative one such as vases etc. This of course does not include the antique collecting market where antique, or "Ko Imari" offers a rich and varied field for collecting.
The four sided vase decorated in full with the traditional Imari palette of a rich cobalt blue and iron red. Both front and reverse side of the lamp well painted with flower heads and tendril scrolls, the Japanese flower filled shaped reserves enamelled with long tailed birds perched on leafy branches. The flower heads gilded.
The vase - shaped sides well painted with subjects of Buddhist lions, or Shi Shi. The Shi Shi at play with a beribboned ball. In Japanese decorative art the male lion is depicted at play with a ball, the lioness with cubs. The vase shape seated on a rectangular flared base.
The lamp standing on an elaborately carved and gilded four footed stand, the lamp cap similarly gilded. The stand carved with scrolling tendril open work.
This is an exceptionally decorative Imari lamp on stand.
Lamp base and gilded stand Early Meiji - Circa 1870
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