5. Virgin And Infant
VIRGIN AND INFANT
By Gerard David
(More clothes)
The Owari, Imari, Hirado, and Kutani are the finest productions of the Japanese porcelainkilns. While the porcelains are probably more appreciated by the Westerner, the Japanese are justly proud of their faience, and there is a charm in the creamy richness of this marvelous ware that entrances all who study it. The pioneer province in this art, was Satsuma. In the year 1592 a prince of this province went on an expedition to Korea, and on his return in 1598 he brought seventeen Korean potters to establish kilns at his home.
In 1630 feldspar was discovered in Satsuma, and since then the manufacture of faience has been uninterrupted. Another province famous for its faience is that of Kioto, where kilns were established in the district of Raku by a Korean in 1550. The present is the eleventh generation of the family, and the wares still bear the mark "Raku," meaning happiness, a mark conferred upon the family by a nobleman in the year 1580. Raku ware is principally teapots and cups and is highly esteemed throughout Japan.
Probably the most satisfactory point to study the manufacture of faience is at Awata, a suburb of Kioto, where the excellent Awata wares are made. These kilns are operated by ten families, descendants of the founders of the industry. Here a short stroll from the hotel brings the connoisseur to the humble cottages whose clay walls and thatched roofs conceal the kilns whose products are exported to all parts of the world.