Standing Figure of a Beauty

色絵婦人立像

c. 1690

Japan, Edo period

(1615–1868)

Medium

Porcelain with overglaze color enamels (Hizen ware, Kakiemon type)

Measurements

Overall: 38 cm (14 15/16 in.)

Credit Line

John L. Severance Fund 1964.366

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Location

235A Japanese

Did You Know?

Look closely! One of this fashionable woman's feet is peeking out from under her layered kimono.

Description

Dressed in layered robes and a jacketlike garment called an uchikake with a lively floral design, figures such as this one may have derived from dolls formed in the likeness of courtesans. It was produced in Hizen Province (in present-day Saga Prefecture on the island of Kyushu) by the Sakaida family of ceramists, the head of which has gone by the first name Kakiemon for many generations. As a result, the studio’s historical works are known as Kakiemon ware. The studio is distinguished for being among the earliest in Japan to use multicolor overglaze enamel and for the milky white of its porcelain.