A PAIR OF JAPANESE ARITA MODELS OF HENS

A PAIR OF JAPANESE ARITA MODELS OF HENS
EDO PERIOD, 1670-1730

Both crisply moulded with long tail feathers painted in underglaze blue, gilt, red, cyan and black enamels; each standing on a rocky outcrop with a russet-brown glaze, and with green fungi and leaves applied to the sides; the chickens depicted standing in opposite directions, 23.8cm and 23.5cm respectively. (2)

Cf. see J Ayers, O Impey, JVG Mallet, Porcelain for Palaces, The Fashion for Japan in Europe 1650-1750, p.188, no.177 for a similar model of a hen from a private collection, on loan to the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.