Ko-Imari Sometsuke Μπολ Τελετής Τσαγιού, Chabōzu & Chado Εργαλεία — Σετ δύο τεμαχίων - Πορσελάνη - Unknown - Ιαπωνία - Τέλη της περιόδου Edo

Ko-Imari Sometsuke Tea Ceremony Bowls — Chabōzu & Chado Utensils — Set of 2

Product Details
Pick up one of these bowls and turn it slowly. Three times the body completes its story — three lobed cartouches, each framing a scene from the world of the tea ceremony: a chabōzu, the attendant monk who tends the kettle, rendered with quiet dignity beside a tea caddy and釜; another panel showing a tea caddy and a rounded iron kettle; a third with tea whisk and utensils arranged as if waiting for a ceremony to begin. Between the cartouches, the ground is filled with an intricate sometsuke — underglaze cobalt blue — pattern of overlapping chrysanthemum petals and rolling waves, drawn with the confident, unhurried hand of a skilled Edo-period Arita decorator.
The rim carries a continuous key-fret band — the classical raimon, or thunder pattern — painted in fine underglaze blue just inside the lip, a detail that signals the ambition of the piece: this is not a casual production but a set conceived with care from the first brushstroke to the last. Inside, the centre of each bowl holds a circular medallion framed by a double raimon ring, depicting tea utensils — a tea caddy, a chasen whisk, and a chashaku scoop — the essential tools of the tea ceremony reduced to an elegant, spare composition.
The subject matter is unusually specific. Chabōzu — the young acolytes and attendants who served tea masters and managed the charcoal and kettle — were a familiar figure in Edo-period culture, often appearing in literature and woodblock prints, but their appearance on Arita porcelain in this concentrated, three-panel arrangement is rare. These bowls were almost certainly made for a household with a strong connection to the tea world, or as a gift within that circle.
The two bowls are not identical — dimensions differ slightly (H. 5.5 cm, Dia. 9.0 cm and H. 5.3 cm, Dia. 8.9 cm) — a natural result of hand-throwing and individual firing. The base of each carries an apocryphal Chenghua reign mark in underglaze blue, a common practice in Edo-period Arita production signalling quality and auspiciousness rather than Chinese origin. The glaze is smooth and even throughout, with no chips, cracks, or restoration on either piece.

Artist Profile
These bowls were produced at the Arita kilns in Hizen Province (present-day Saga Prefecture, Kyushu), the birthplace of Japanese porcelain. The Ko-Imari tradition — literally "old Imari," referring to Arita ware distributed through the port of Imari during the Edo period (1603–1868) — encompasses a wide range of quality levels, from large-scale export production to refined domestic pieces made for specific cultural circles.
The sometsuke technique — painting directly onto the unfired body with cobalt-blue pigment before glazing and high-temperature firing — was the foundation of Arita production from its earliest years. By the mid-to-late Edo period, Arita decorators had developed a rich vocabulary of pictorial subjects drawn from Chinese literati painting, Japanese genre scenes, and the world of the tea ceremony. The chabōzu motif, depicting the young attendants of the tea master, belongs to this last category and reflects the deep interpenetration of tea culture and daily life among the Edo-period merchant and samurai classes.
The apocryphal Chenghua mark on the base follows a well-documented practice in Arita and other Japanese kilns: adopting the reign mark of a celebrated Chinese emperor — in this case the Chenghua Emperor of the Ming dynasty (r. 1464–1487), whose court produced some of the most admired porcelain in East Asian history — as an indication of quality aspiration rather than a claim of origin.

About Ko-Imari Ware and Key Terms
What is Ko-Imari ware?
Ko-Imari — literally "old Imari" — refers to porcelain produced at the Arita kilns in Hizen Province (present-day Saga Prefecture, Kyushu) during the Edo period (1603–1868) and distributed through the nearby port of Imari. It represents the foundation of Japanese porcelain history, combining refined white paste with richly painted decoration, and has been collected in Europe since the seventeenth century.
Sometsuke
Sometsuke is the Japanese term for underglaze blue decoration — a technique in which designs are painted directly onto the unfired clay body using cobalt-blue pigment, then sealed under a transparent glaze before firing at high temperature. The result is a design permanently fused within the glaze, with the characteristic soft, luminous blue that defines much of Ko-Imari production.
Kodai
The kodai is the foot ring — the raised circular base on which a ceramic piece stands. On Ko-Imari wares, the kodai is typically left unglazed, revealing the raw paste beneath and providing important evidence of origin and age. The slightly grey-toned, smooth paste visible on the foot ring of these bowls is characteristic of Edo-period Arita production.
Kan-nyu
Kan-nyu refers to the fine network of hairline cracks that can develop in a glaze over time as the ceramic body and glaze expand and contract at slightly different rates through centuries of temperature change. On these bowls no kan-nyu is present, which contributes to their excellent state of preservation.

Condition & Specifications
Condition: Excellent for age. No chips, cracks, or restoration on either piece. Both bowls retain their original glaze surfaces in outstanding condition.
Highly recommended for collectors of Edo-period Imari ware.

Bowl 1:

Height: 5.5 cm
Diameter: 9.0 cm
Weight: 84 g

Bowl 2:

Height: 5.3 cm
Diameter: 8.9 cm
Weight: 92 g
Signature / Mark: Apocryphal Chenghua reign mark in underglaze blue on each base
Box: None

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