11. Oribe-style shallow serving dish with a raised base

11. Oribe-style shallow serving dish with a raised base 

White clay, glazed in speckled gray, with design elements in green, yellow, and brown; the base of the foot ring was left unglazed. Weight: 690 g (1.5 lb). Diameter of plate: 20 cm (7-3/4 in); base diameter 11.5 cm (4-1/2 in). Overall height: 5.7 cm (2-1/4 in); height of base: 3.5 cm (1-3/8 in).

This is more a piece with Oribe design elements than a piece of Oribe ware. It’s typical of the ways that Oribe idioms have been adapted for more commercial pottery in Japan. The visual field of the plate is created by two green areas. The plate section appears to have been molded on a form; the weave of the cheesecloth used to separate the clay from the mold isvery apparent in the lighter areas of green glaze. The areas covered with green appeared to have first been glazed in yellow; this shows through in places where the green glaze is thin. The outside edges of the green areas also have a narrow yellow border.  The maple-leaf design was added using a brush dipped brown glaze (probably an iron-rich slip). The rim of the plate is also lined in brown. The exterior of the base is decorated with an undulating line and dots in brown.

Purchased at the Japan Trade Center in San Francisco in the late 1980s or early 1990s.