Kato Shuntai (加藤春岱), Japanese, (1802–1877)

An Ofuke Glazed Confectionery Dish (御深井葵紋菓子皿)

Edo Era (1603–1868)

About the work

An elegant Ofuke glazed confectionery dish by Kato Shuntai, a distinguished Seto ceramic artist celebrated for preserving and refining the historic ceramic traditions of central Japan. Executed in the classic Ofuke (御深井) style, the dish reflects the refined aesthetic associated with tea ceremony utensils and the decorative arts of the Tokugawa period.

The shallow circular form is covered in a soft ivory glaze, enriched by flowing washes of pale blue and muted green characteristic of traditional Ofuke ware. At the centre, the dish is decorated with three stylised Aoi (葵) crests, the emblem closely associated with the Tokugawa family, delicately rendered in underglaze blue against a warm cream ground. The Tokugawa family was a powerful samurai clan that ruled Japan as shoguns during the Edo period. The reverse is finished with an attractive band of exposed iron-rich clay highlighted by small green glazed accents around the foot, demonstrating the artist's careful attention to every aspect of the vessel.

The dish is accompanied by its original signed wooden storage box (tomobako) and protective cloth (tomonuno).

Dimensions

4.2cm(h) x 20.3cm(w)

Footnote

Kato Shuntai was born in Akatsu, Seto, in 1802. At the age of 15, he began his career at the esteemed Ofuke kiln, producing ceramics for the Owari Tokugawa family. He has also worked independently in Akatsu, Imao and Nagoya. Works from this period are now valued for their artistic quality and historical importance. Shuntai returned as an official potter for the Owari domain in 1866 and continued until the official kiln’s closure in the early Meiji era. He passed away in 1877, leaving an enduring legacy of Seto pottery bridging classical tradition and individual expression.