Ishizara Plate with Design of Willow Branch
Unknown Artist
late 18th–early 19th century
Medium
Stoneware (Seto ware)
Dimensions
H. 3 5/8 in. (9.2 cm); Diam. 14 1/4 in. (36.2 cm)
Classification
Ceramics
Culture & Period
Japan · Edo period (1615–1868)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Harry G. C. Packard Collection of Asian Art, Gift of Harry G. C. Packard, and Purchase, Fletcher, Rogers, Harris Brisbane Dick, and Louis V. Bell Funds, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, and The Annenberg Fund Inc. Gift, 1975
Accession Number
1975.268.611
Art Historical Context
This elegant *Ishizara Plate with Design of Willow Branch*, by an unknown artist in late 18th– to early 19th-century during the Edo period (5–1868), the refined stoneware tradition of Set ware. Produced in the renowned pottery center of Seto, Aichi Prefecture, these low-footed plates—measuring just 3⅝ inches high and 14¼ inches diameter—were essential for chanoyu, the Japanese tea ceremony. The subtle willow branch motif, gracefully rendered, evokes the tree's flexible branches swaying in the wind, symbolizing resilience and seasonal beauty in Japanese aesthetics. Seto ware's stoneware body, ...