Kakiemon porcelain

Polychrome enamelled porcelain made at the Arita kilns and decorated by the potter Sakaida Kakiemon and his descendants.

Kakiemon porcelain has a distinctive palette of soft red, yellow, bleu and turquoise green. The decoration is usually of high quality, delicate and with asymmetric well-balanced designs sparsely applied to emphasize the fine white background body.

The variety of patterns includes: birds, flying squirrels, the "Quail and Millet" design, the "Three Friends of Winter" (pine, prunus and bamboo), flowers (especially the chrysanthemum, the national flower of Japan) and figural subjects.

Porcelain in this style was first imported by the Dutch in the 17th century and soon became very popular in Europe, being copied and adapted at Meissen, Chelsea and elsewhere. See Kakiemon style.