Tea bowl

The tea bowl is complete; there is a slight flaw on the rim. It is circular in shape. In profile, the bowl has a slightly flared wall topped by a straight rim. The lower part of the wall is curved towards the bottom, which is flat. The bowl rests on a small annular foot. The outer rim of the foot is beveled and free of glaze. The bottom is flat and recessed; the decoration covers the outside of the bowl, as well as the inside rim and bottom. The decoration is of the vegetable 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. A fillet is traced on the inner edge in blue. The center of the background is decorated with a ring traced in blue surrounding a small leafy stem, traced and painted in blue, and surmounted by ribbed leaves and a flower, traced and painted in red. The decoration on the outer wall consists of three motifs repeated in mirror image on opposite walls. The main scene is a painted landscape on an undulating blue-painted terrace, resting on a blue-painted ring; it features a tall central tree, traced and painted in blue with gilding and a few red-painted leaves; it is flanked by a Chinese house and pagoda, traced and painted in blue. Red-painted clouds cover the sky, and three blue-painted mountains with gilding appear in the background. This scene is bordered by a parallelogram-shaped mass, traced and painted in blue and adorned with a leafy, flowering stem painted in gilding. This mass is flanked by a double lobed medallion traced in blue with gilding; its interior is painted in faded red and decorated, in reserve, with a plant and floral motif bordered by two curved leaves, traced and painted in blue and red with gilding. The top of the rim is covered with partially faded gilding.