Artwork

Large Tea Bowl with New Year Kadomatsu and Hanging Decorations (Shōgatsu kadomatsu kakegazari ōburi no chawan)

Large Tea Bowl with New Year Kadomatsu and Hanging Decorations (Shōgatsu kadomatsu kakegazari ōburi no chawan) is a paint painting by the Impressionist artist Unknown. It dates from 1877 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum. The work is a painted ceramic tea bowl dating to 1877, distinguished by a vivid decorative scheme that celebrates the Japanese New Year.

About this work

Overview

The work is a painted ceramic tea bowl dating to 1877, distinguished by a vivid decorative scheme that celebrates the Japanese New Year. Its surface is covered with bright pigments depicting traditional festive elements, while the rim is accented with swirling black motifs. The bowl measures a substantial size for a tea vessel, emphasizing its ceremonial function.

Subject & Meaning

The exterior imagery presents two towering pine trunks, each bound at the base with yellow fabric, evoking the kadomatsu arrangement used to greet the New Year and invite auspicious spirits. A red paper lantern hangs between the trees, marked with small white crosses, and a backdrop of green foliage and pale sky completes the scene, symbolising renewal and seasonal celebration.

Technique & Style

The decoration employs hand‑applied enamel pigments, applied over a glazed surface before a low‑temperature firing that preserves the brilliance of the colors. The composition combines flat decorative patterns with a modest sense of depth, characteristic of late‑19th‑century Japanese decorative arts that blended traditional motifs with a more graphic, illustrative approach.

History & Provenance

The bowl entered the museum’s collection in 1905, acquired from Miss Mary Dresser as part of a larger group of objects that had previously been owned by the designer Christopher Dresser. Its inclusion in the Register of Drawings reflects its documentation alongside other works of decorative drawing and painting from the same period.

Context

Created during the Meiji era, the piece reflects a period when Japanese artisans were responding to both domestic customs and growing interest from Western collectors. The New Year theme aligns with longstanding seasonal rituals, while the vivid palette and stylised forms appeal to the aesthetic tastes of the time, bridging traditional practice and emerging decorative trends.