Imari Porcelain - Characteristics

Characteristics

Though there are many types of Imaris, Westerners conception of Imari in popular sense has association with only a type of Imari produced and exported in large quantity in mid-17th century. The type is called Kinrande. Kinrande Imari is colored porcelain with underglaze cobalt blue and overglaze red and gold. The color combination was not seen in China at that time. Traditional Ming dynasty color porcelain used dominantly red and green, probably due to scarcity of gold in China, whereas gold was abundant in Japan those days. The subject matter of Imari is diverse ranging from of foliage and flowers, people scenery and abstraction. Some Imari design structures such as kraakstyle were adopted from China, but most designs were uniquely Japanese owing to the rich Japanese tradition of paintings and costume design. The porcelain has a gritty texture on the bases, where it is not covered by glaze. There is also blue and white Imari. Kakiemon style Imari is another type of Imari, but it tends to be categorized separately in Europe.