Tea bowl

The tea bowl is complete; it has slight cracks. It is circular in shape. In profile, the bowl has a slightly flared wall topped by a plain rim. The lower part of the wall curves towards the flat bottom. The bowl rests on a solid ring-shaped foot. The outer rim of the foot is beveled and free of glaze; the decoration covers the outer face of the bowl, as well as the inner rim and bottom. The decoration is of the vegetable scroll type, treated in Imari. It is hand-painted in two-tone blue underglaze, then traced and painted in iron red, with gold highlights, over glaze. The braid under the inner edge is traced in blue and outlined with a fillet. It is composed of two alternately repeated elements. One element is a plant motif in blue, bordered by two spiny scrolls in red, and set between two curved lines in blue. The second element is a double latticework in blue. The background decoration consists of a plant element traced and painted in blue. The main decoration on the outer wall is a large unrolled scroll, traced and painted in blue with gold and red highlights. Behind the scroll rise two slender leafy stems, traced and painted in blue with gilding, and topped with flowers traced and painted in blue, while the others are traced in red with veins. In the center, there’s a flower traced and painted in red with gilding; other flowers are traced and painted in red, with or without gilding, and a flower traced and painted in blue with red. To the right, scrolls are traced in blue and red. The opposite wall features a stylized butterfly traced and painted in blue, and painted in red and gold. Another stylized butterfly appears to be resting on the scroll.