Antique Japanese Kutani Aka-e Bowl Kiji Pheasant Peony Landscape Meiji Taisho

Japanese Kutani Aka-e Bowl Kiji Pheasant Peony Landscape Meiji-Taisho

Japan, Meiji–Taishō period, c. 1890–1920

8 in. dia (20 cm); Weight:

A well-potted Kutani (九谷) bowl in the aka-e (赤絵) overglaze enamel tradition, its interior painted with a pair of kiji (雉, Japanese green pheasant) amid a lush garden landscape of botan (牡丹, peony), matsu (松, pine), bamboo, and distant mountains rendered in iron-red, celadon green, soft orange, and black. The birds are depicted with close attention to plumage detail — the male's iridescent breast scaling and fanned tail feathers, the female's subtler spotted body — a composition that draws on the classical kachō-ga (花鳥画, bird-and-flower painting) tradition. A scalloped iron-red border defines the rim, its undulating cloud or wave form characteristic of Meiji-period Kutani decorative vocabulary. The exterior carries a spare secondary decoration of orange blossoms on trailing green stems against the white ground, with an orange-banded foot ring — a restrained complement to the interior's richness. The base bears the two-character red enamel mark 九谷 (Kutani).

Condition: Good overall; glaze and enamel decoration intact with strong color. Some minor wear and surface marks consistent with age. No chips or cracks noted.

A handsome display bowl in the classic Kutani palette — the kiji composition and well-executed scalloped border mark this as a piece of above-average decorative quality.