A garden basket (basket for keeping poultry in the garden) is placed in the garden, and flowers are blooming around it. Such a peaceful scene that could be seen everywhere is drawn on the plate.
After Kutani Shoza (九谷庄三) often created the works that drew a rural scene, many master craftsmen such as Haruna Shigeharu (春名繫春) realistically painted a scene that could be seen anytime, anywhere.
size ; diameter about 20.4 cm, height about 2.9 cm
Red painting stands out as a whole, and the design in the center of the plate is finely painted with red, and it is also decorated with gold and brocade like other Meiji kutani, so the everyday scene is a little gorgeous. No poultry can be found in or around the garden basket, and the garden at that era when it was normal to keep poultry in private homes is drawn with flowers.
The plate itself is thick, especially the back side is rugged, but without painting the back side with glaze, the flowers are drawn with a margin so as not to worry about that.
The back name is written as “九谷kutani / created by 加長軒Kacho-ken”. Other works with the back name “Kacho-ken” are inherited, or also masterpieces with “created by 加長軒Kacho-ken 繁春Shigeharu”. The creator had another name, “Eisai-do” (栄生堂) , but it is unclear how Haruna used it and “Kacho-ken” properly.
creator of the work
Haruna Shigeharu 春名 繫春 born in 1847, and died in 1913
Haruna Shigeharu learned Japanese-style painting from former Kaga domain painter and porcelain painting from Toda Tokuji (任田徳次). After that, before and after working as a porcelain painter for the Abe Oumi kiln (阿部碧海窯) in Kanazawa between 1873 and 1876, Haruna exhibited his works in the Vienna World’s Fair in 1873, and the Philadelphia World’s Fair in 1876. After that, he created excellent works as a painter at the painting kiln managed by the pottery merchant Ennak Magohei (円中孫平), including a large brocade vase of 70 cm.
The reputation of Haruna was so high that it was named alongside Utsumi Kichizo (内海吉造) in the early Meiji period, and became one of the master craftsmen of Kanazawa kutani. His disciples included Yanagita Sozan, Shimada Hozan, etc.
Around 1882, he left Kanazawa and went to Yokohama to engage in Satsuma-style painting of Yokohama-yaki. In 1889, he was invited to the Tokyo Craftsman School as an exemplary craftsman and then he worked at Tokyo Higher Industrial School until 1902. During this time, he helped Gottfried Wagner for Asahi-yaki and published a magazine of designs.
After that, Haruna moved to Kyoto, created works at the Ceramics Research Institute, and was invited by the 9th Kinko-zan (錦光山) as a design teacher. Kinko-zan also exported colored pottery, so it is possible that Haruna was involved in the production of colorful colored pottery.