Candlestick in the Shape of a European Man

This stoneware candlestick takes the shape of a so-called nanban, or “southern barbarian, ” a word used historically in Japan to refer to Europeans. Here, red bushy eyebrows and a beard, a prominent nose, large eyes, and his collared shirt all highlight his foreignness. The green glaze that covers the jar he carries as well as part of his shirt is characteristic of Oribe ceramics, which were made in the Mino region of central Japan and demonstrated more diversity of form and surface decoration than most other Japanese ceramics of the time. The bowl-shaped plate on top of his head would have once had a metal pricket onto which a candle would have been placed.