Jar with Design of Flowering Plants, Grasses, and Insects

When they were brought to Europe, bright iron-red enameled wares like this one provided a refreshing change from the blue-and-white porcelains that had been exported there in such great quantity from 17th-century Japan. This type of jar, with its well-composed, sedate floral motifs, was far rarer than the countless blue-and-whites and stood in sharp contrast to the highly elaborate surfaces of other wares. The dense, red interlocking lattice and wave patterns of this broad-shouldered pot frame four other panels of plant life rendered in colors of pale straw, green, and blue. The treatment of the pictorial vignettes is more painterly than would be found on other export wares.