Bowl with Ships and Dutchmen

The technique used to decorate this bowl is known as iro-e (colored pictures). Motifs and patterns are painted with colored glazes onto previously glazed and fired ceramics, which are then fired again at a lower temperature so the color melts onto the underglaze. The Chinese developed this method in the 1100s, and it was introduced to Japan about five hundred years later. This bowl’s design juxtaposes Japanese and decidedly non-Japanese motifs. A European ship and sailors at the center are encircled by a blue border with traditional Buddhist motifs of flying dragons, wish-granting jewels, and golden clouds. Surrounding this are more ships and pairs of curly-haired, colorfully clothed Dutchmen.