JAPON , FIN DU XVIIe SIECLE Lot n° 23

JAPAN, END OF THE 17th CENTURY PAIR OF COVERED POTS TURNED UP IN FLOWERBEDS Porcelain with Khakiemon decoration France, Regency period for bronze H. 17 cm, D. 13 cm Fê/>H. 17 cm, D. 13 cm Crack This pair of covered pots, assembled in bouquetière style with a globular body flanked by two handles, is made of khakiemon style porcelain. This ceramic was born in Japan in the 17th century in the very active centre of Arita and owes its name to the famous potter Sakaida Kakiemon (1597-1666). White, decorated with coloured figurative motifs, it was quickly copied by the Chinese and then by Europeans in the 18th century (Saint-Cloud, Meissen and Chantilly in particular). The fact that the pots were reassembled as flower-boxes refers to the role of Mercier merchants in the 18th century. Suppliers to the aristocracy, they had made a speciality of disassembling and reassembling Far Eastern objects thanks to the most skilful craftsmen such as BVRB (1700/1760) for the chests of drawers or Jacques Caffieri (1678-1755) for the bronzes.