Cake tray: wild orchid

Dateearly 18th century

Maker Ogata Kenzan Japanese, 1663 - 1743

Label TextOgata Kenzan (1663-1743), is a renowned Edo period artist in the field of ceramics and painting. After studying under the direction of Kyoto ware (Ky-yaki) master Nonomura Ninsei-whose tea powder container is on display nearby-Kenzan built his kiln in 1699 at Narutaki in Kyoto. A square shaped plate is his favored form, a unique style only found in Kenzan's and his successors' work, probably made as a set of ten or twenty. Bamboo, peony and wild orchid designs are depicted, along with poetry drawn as though on paper, an expression of his rich calligraphy, painting and ceramic techniques. It is thought that Kenzan was inspired by his older brother Ogata Korin, a famous Rimpa painter, and that they sometimes worked together on Kenzan's plates.

Object number52.165

ProvenanceSeattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington, 1952

Exhibition HistoryKansas City, Missouri, Nelson Gallery-Atkins Museum & St. Louis, Missouri, City Art Museum, Art of Japan in Edo Period, 1958. Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Japanese Art of the S.A.M., 1960. Japan House Gallery, New York, Rimpa Exhibition, 1971. Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Tea House Gallery Installation, November 26, 2004 - January 30, 2006. Seattle, Washington, Seattle Asian Art Museum, Legends, Tales, Poetry: Visual Narrative in Japanese Art, December 22, 2012 - July 21, 2013.Published ReferencesFuller, Richard E. Japanese Art in the Seattle Art Museum: An Historical Sketch. Seattle, WA: Seattle Art Museum, 1960 ("Presented in commemoration of the Hundredth Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations between Japan and the United States of America"), no. 145b. Li, Chu-tsing. "The Oberlin Orchid and the Problem of P'u-ming," Archives of the Chinese Art Society of America, Vol. 16 (1962): pp. 49-76, p. 69, 70; p. 69, fig. 18. Nelson, Glenn. Ceramics, A Potter's Handbook. 1971; fig. 123, p. 67. Stern, Harold P. Rimpa, Masterworks of the Japanese Decorative School.1971; ca. nos. 35-38

Credit LineEugene Fuller Memorial Collection

Dimensions7/8 x 5 3/4 in. (2.22 x 14.61 cm) L.: 5 3/4 in.

MediumCeramic with iron oxide glaze