Dish with Foliate Rim

Early 17th century

Japan, Gifu Prefecture

Stoneware wtih incised and combed design under copper-green glaze (Mino ware, Oribe type)

H. 2 x Diam. 6 3/4 in. (5 x 17.1 cm)

Asia Society, New York: Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection, 1979.228

.This all-over green dish is less typical of Oribe type stoneware than the more dramatic pieces only partially covered in green glaze. Both the form and decoration of this dish resemble those of Ming (1368-1644) Chinese prototypes in porcelain. The motif -- a donkey and a rider, appearing here like a rapid line sketch -- is one of a variety of popular motifs taken from Chinese literature and ceramics. This wheel-thrown dish would have been made as everyday tableware in sets of near-identical pieces, rather than as individualized vessels for the tea ceremony.