The Twelfth Month
from Plates of the
Twelve Months
Stoneware with
overglaze enamels
Each: 8 x 7 x 1/2 in.
(20.3 x 17.8 x 1.3 cm)
Purchased with funds
provided by the Japan
Business Association and
the Far Eastern Art Council,
M.84.64.1-.12
The plate illustrated shows
mandarin ducks perched on a snowy branch beside a pond in a
lonely, frigid landscape. Each plate in Ogata Kenzan's set of
twelve was painted in delicate tones on the front, with
indigo-blue wisteria patterns around the side. Each plate
represents a specific month and includes images related to poems-composed
in 1214 by Fujiwara no Teika-which Kenzan copied on the
reverse. The poem on this plate reads, "Mandarin Duck / the
snow falls on the ice of the pond / on which I gaze; /
piling up, as does this passing year, on all those passed / and
on the feathered coat of the mandarin duck, / the 'bird of
regret.'"
These plates are unusual for
their shape-square with straight sides, extremely difficult
for a potter to achieve-and for the innovative way Kenzan used
the surface as a format for painting. While the front surface is
like a painting, the reverse resembles a traditional shikishi
(poem card) of square format. The overall style of these
plates, including the painting, border design, and type of
calligraphy on the back, is Japanese. Kenzan also did plates of
similar format in which all of these elements were created in a
Chinese style.
The shape of the plates indicates
that they were made to imitate objects in another medium, either
lacquer or wood. Making works in one medium resemble either
natural or fabricated objects of other media was a specialty of
Kyoto artists, especially potters and lacquerers.
Fujiwara no Teika was court poet
to the abbot of the temple Ninnaji in Kyoto. Kenzan worked under
the jurisdiction of the same temple, selling wares to members of
the court. These plates were probably a presentation set to a
court noble and may have been used for a special culinary
occasion during which those present were asked to guess the
poems on the reverse of each plate. Thus the works were made for
the pleasure of the highly educated members of the noble class.
Because of their fragility, the plates would have been
considered "cabinet pieces" to be displayed rather
than used, following this single occasion.
About the Artist:
Ogata Kenzan