Gosu Akae Large Plate | Chinese Ceramics

The blue-and-white and overglaze red porcelain known in Japan as sometsuke and Gosu akae (Swatow red-painted ware) was treasured by wealthy merchants and tea masters, and many pieces have been handed down to the present day. Their place of production, however, long remained shrouded in mystery. In 1992, when an archaeologist from the Sakai City Cultural Properties Center in Osaka visited Xiamen University, he found familiar-looking sherds in a local antiques shop, which led to the clarification of the origin of Gosu akae, until then of unknown provenance. Researchers from China and Japan finally confirmed that Gosu akae was produced at the Pinghe kilns in Zhangzhou, Fujian Province, and exported to Japan via Xiamen. Because the Pinghe kilns' products were mainly for export, extremely few survive in China, and only one piece, held by the Zhangzhou Museum, remains complete. Because of this rarity, Gosu akae is highly valued as extremely precious ceramics.

Publication year: 1932
Dimensions: 310 × 230 mm

Gosu Akae / Large Ceramic Plate / Chinese Ceramics