Incense Burner - Gold over Colored Painting

Brilliant and colorful painting is one of the most distinctive features of Kutani ware. This beautifully colored porcelain is part of a history that began in a 17th century kiln for the Kaga clan and has since developed mainly in southern Ishikawa Prefecture.

The “Incense Burner – Gold over Colored Painting” is an impressive work with its light, watercolor-like expression. Its creator, Yukio Yoshita, is the fourth-generation head of the Kinzangama kiln, a Kutani ware kiln established in Komatsu, Ishikawa Prefecture in 1906. While continuing to use kinsai, the gold decoration technique that has been the hallmark of the Kinzangama kiln for generations, Yukio has expanded the traditional Kutani ware techniques of color painting, such as gosai-te, by incorporating Western paints to create a new expression.

This seemingly novel expression is supported by a solid tradition. The history of the region, the history of the kiln, and the history of the artist himself have all contributed to the creation of this beautiful world of colors that one cannot help but admire.