Umezume Incense Burner

Ceramics

Craft Company: Hataman Touen

ORIGIN: Imari, Saga Prefecture
MATERIAL: Porcelain stone

Springtime plum blossoms in all their glory

An incense burner filled with a three dimensional pattern of white plum blossoms. The plum blossom petals spreading all over the surface are softly elegant and evoke the exuberance of the coming of spring. The knobs and legs are decorated with gold and sometsuke, a blue and white painting under transparent glaze, giving the piece a noble impression. The ume-zume (literally, “packed with plum blossoms”) pattern, which is carefully hand-painted by a painter specializing in porcelain, has been passed down from generation to generation as a unique design of Hataman Touen, a kiln in Imari Nabeshima, Saga Prefecture. With its high level of painting technique, this piece is a gem with outstanding appeal and a unique expression of auspicious motifs beloved by the Japanese people.

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Kinsai
- Generic term
- Technique
A generic term for the technique of using gold as a decoration as well as for ceramics decorated in that fashion.
Nabeshima ware
- Generic term
A generic term for the high-quality porcelain produced in kilns operated by the Nabeshima clan between the 17th and 19th centuries. At that time it was manufactured as gifts for the shogun and feudal lords because of its outstanding quality and artistry. Its distinctive original style, which has been carried on to this day, is known simply as Nabeshima style, and includes “Iro Nabeshima” (colored Nabeshima), “Nabeshima sometsuke” (blue-and-white Nabeshima), “Ai Nabeshima” (Indigo Nabeshima), and “Nabeshima celadon.”
Sometsuke (Blue and white porcelain)
- Technique
Decorating on biscuit under transparent glaze with a blue pigment. This pigment is known as zaffer or “gosu” in Japanese. It was first used in China in the 14th century and then spread around the world. In Japan, it was first introduced in Arita at the beginning of 17th century. The decoration methods can be broadly divided into two ways with each method using different brushes. One is drawing just the outline and the other is painting inside the outline which is called “dami” in Japanese. There are also other techniques such as “fukizumi” which creates pattern by spraying gosu on the surface resulting in a charming contrast of blue and white.
Porcelain
- Classification
Vessels and objects made using mainly kaolin from shattered porcelain stones. It is stronger than pottery because it is fired at a higher temperature of about 1300 degrees Celsius and has a clear sound when struck. It has no water absorption. The translucent quality of porcelain gives you a sense of coolness and hardness. Traditional production areas are Arita, Tobe, Kyoto, and Kutani.

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