Large octagonal bowl made of porcelain, decorated in underglaze cobalt blue. In the center of the bowl a prancing tiger before a roaring stream, looking up towards the sky. Behind him bamboo and rocks. Left of the tiger there is a three-line poem about the tiger and the third moon (May or June).
The sides are decorated with four peonies and leaves draped in arabesques; the rim decorated with a border of key-fret motif. On the outside each flat section of the octagonal decorated with a tachibana in a cartouche. Blue lines on the ribs of the octagonal, sectioning off each flat surface, in the way Kraak chargers were sectioned off.
Hizen, Arita kiln, Japan, 18th / 19th century
H 3 x W 10.5 x Diagonal 11 in.
One underglaze chip (not considered a damage), few scratches in bottom and mushikui on rims commensurate with age and usage, all in all excellent condition
The tiger represents autumn, one of the four cardinal points in ancient astronomy, and rules over the five constellations of the West and personificaties the wind.
Tiger in bamboo (take ni tora) in high wind is supposed to mean that even the strongest terrestrial force (tiger) is no match for the elements and needs to seek shelter. However, the tiger is a symbol of the wind and thus the image should evoke the sound of the rustling wind in the bamboo.
