Sho Chiku Bai Sometsuke Gohan Jawan (rice/soup bowl with hand-painted cobalt three friends elements) [2]

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Title:: Sho Chiku Bai Sometsuke Gohan Jawan (rice/soup bowl with hand-painted cobalt three friends elements) [2]
Catalog Number:: 45SN398A/2007/0501
Source:: Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture
Description:: These mending sherds of a gohan chawan, or rice/soup bowl, have hand-painted cobalt decoration on the exterior. Decoration elements are abstracted pine, plum, and bamboo, collectively known as Sho Chiku Bai or the Three Friends of Winter, which appear around the vessel rim and are bounded by Horizontal band encircling the vessel rim and body. The minimalism and abstraction of this design are both characteristic of Taisho-era ceramic trends. A second, nearly identical gohan chawan is also present in the Japanese Gulch Village assemblage; see Sometsuke Sho Chiku Bai Gohan Jawan (rice/soup bowl with hand-painted cobalt three friends design) [1].
Site Location:: Near Mukilteo, Washington
Site Date:: 1903-1928
Functional Category:: Mealtime Tableware
Material:: Jiki (porcelain)
Vessel Form:: Gohan Chawan (rice/soup bowl)
Artifact Dimensions:: Rim= 12 cm; footring= 4 cm; height= 5 cm
Pigment Application:: Shita-Etsuke (underglaze)
Decoration Type:: Sometsuke (hand-painted cobalt)
Exterior Decoration Method:: Etsuke (hand painted)
Exterior Decoration Color:: Cobalt blue
Exterior Decoration Elements:: Sho Chiku Bai (three friends); Horizontal band
Manufacture Origin:: Japan
Manufacture Date Range:: Minimalistic hand-painted sometsuke was increasingly popular during the Taisho era (1912-1926)

Historical Japanese Ceramic Comparative Collection