Antique Japanese Kutani Coffee Pot Bijin Figures Paradise Bird Butterfly Bamboo Handle Meiji

Japanese Kutani Coffee Pot Bijin Figures Paradise Bird Butterfly Bamboo Handle Meiji

Japan, Meiji period, c. 1868–1912

Approx. 9 in. H (23 cm); Weight: 

A large and finely decorated Kutani (九谷) coffee pot or hot water jug in the Western export form, the pear-shaped body rising to a long angled spout and fitted with a well-seated domed lid with striped iron-red and gold finial. The bamboo-node handle (take-gata, 竹形) is modeled with characteristic joint detail and finished in iron-red with gold-green highlights. The base bears the two-character red enamel mark 九谷 (Kutani).

The body presents two contrasting decorative faces separated by the iron-red ground. The principal bijin-ga (美人画) panel depicts three court ladies beneath a gnarled, wind-swept pine: two figures stand in richly patterned kimono — one carrying a folding fan, the other receiving a flower — while a child kneels between them in a garden setting. Distant mist, pine boughs, and a pale landscape ground are rendered in a soft ink-wash manner of considerable refinement, the figures detailed with individualized poses and textile patterns. The reverse kachō-ga (花鳥画) panel presents a long-tailed paradise bird amid botan (牡丹, peony) and scattered seasonal flowers in iron-red, pink, grey, and gold — a vivid counterpoint to the restrained landscape opposite. The shoulder and neck carry an unusual and striking ground of large grey and gold butterflies (cho, 蝶) amid cloud-form scrolls on iron-red, adding a third decorative register of notable sophistication. The foot carries the characteristic Kutani iron-red and gold grid band.

Condition: Very good overall; enamel and gold decoration intact with strong color throughout. Lid present and well-fitted. Minor wear to foot ring consistent with age. No chips or cracks noted.

A generously scaled and decoratively ambitious Meiji Kutani coffee pot — the bijin figure painting, butterfly shoulder, and paradise bird reverse together make this an unusually complete and display-worthy export piece.