Kakiemon-style Double-gourd-shaped Ewer

Naturalistic renderings of gourds were especially popular in the Edo period, a time when an interest in the observation of plants flourished. This double-gourd ewer has a twisted vine handle attached to the rim and to the lower section of the body. Two leaves have been applied at the junctions of the handle and the body. The white glazed body has a finely painted enamel decoration of flowering vine trails in red, blue and green, with some gilding. The vine continues in moulded relief on one side of the body. The double gourd, common in both Chinese and Japanese art, is a symbol of long life and one of the attributes of the Daoist Immortals.