The Princessehof acquires a rare 16th-century kinrande tiered box

14 juni 2024

The Princessehof National Museum of Ceramics has acquired an exceptional object: a rare 16th-century kinrande box from Jingdezhen, China. The four-piece porcelain tiered box, decorated with overglaze iron-red enamels and gold leaf, was probably used as a luxury item during the Japanese tea ceremony. Only three such pieces are known worldwide, the other two being in private collections in Japan and Brazil.

The kinrande box was acquired with generous support from the Mondriaan Fund, the Friends of the Princessehof and the Princessehof’s Club Céramique. The special piece has been added to the permanent exhibition and can be admired at the Princessehof in Leeuwarden from 14 june.

Kinrande stacking box installed in the permanent presentation of Keramiekmuseum Princessehof, 1500-1600, Collection Keramiekmuse

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kinrande

Kinrande porcelain was made in China for both the local and export markets during the Jiajing (1521-1567) and Wanli (1572-1620) periods. The main markets were Japan and the Middle East, especially the Ottoman Empire. Several pieces ended up in Europe via the Ottomans, mainly as gifts to rulers such as the Medici. The Portuguese and Spanish also brought kinrande porcelain to Europe aboard their trading ships, although the number of pieces was very small compared to the more familiar blue-and-white porcelain. Hence, kinrande items are very rare today.

Tea ceremony

The word kinrande is Japanese in origin and means ‘gold brocade style’, because of its similarity to gold brocade that was fashionable at the time. This term is first mentioned in relation to ceramics in 17th-century historical Japan sources in descriptions of the tea ceremony. This four-tiered box was most likely made specifically for the tea ceremony. In Japan, these types of food containers are called jubako (重箱) and back then were usually made of lacquer. Different versions were utilised during tea ceremonies, which could be subdued gatherings where simple, rustic pieces would be used, or lavish events involving luxury objects.

In addition, from the 15th century it was fashionable in Japan to use Chinese objects, a practice known as karamono suki (taste for Chinese goods). Kinrande porcelain was ideally suited for this, and this box would have been a popular object at luxurious tea ceremonies.

In general, kinrande porcelain, and certainly special shapes such as this, are very rare. The Leeuwarden museum’s new acquisition is the only kinrande box in the world that is displayed in a public collection.

Details kinrande stapeldoos, 1500-1600, Collectie Keramiekmuseum Princessehof | Aangekocht met steun van het Mondriaan Fonds, Vr

Production and decoration

Manufacturing kinrande porcelain was a costly and labour-intensive process. Because the porcelain was decorated with enamel colours, it had to be fired several times. Then a decoration with gold leaf was applied and polished. This gold decoration is very sensitive to wear and tear, which is why it is missing from many kinrande objects today. This new acquisition is decorated using this technique and the gold decoration is still beautifully preserved. All four sides and the cover are decorated with different scenes of people in a landscape, surrounded by geometric patterns and prunus blossoms. The splashes of green enamel are a charming detail. The base has the character 天 (tian), meaning ‘sky’.

This tiered box is an example of the technical proficiency of Chinese potters. Producing objects with straight walls is much more complex than objects with round walls because they collapse more easily. In addition, assembling the various parts is a difficult job, due to the shrinkage of the clay during the several firing stages, and the complicated gold-leaf decorative technique is very time-consuming.

Flexible

The kinrande tiered box exemplifies how Chinese production was easily adapted to the tastes and requirements of foreign markets, such as those in Japan. The same happened for other markets, for example, those in West Asia and Southeast Asia. At the time that this tiered box was produced, Japan was not yet able to make its own porcelain objects. So while it was not only fashionable to use Chinese products, in the case of porcelain, they had to be imported anyway.

These earlier examples of catering to a taste not one’s own are precursors to the explosive growth of chine de commande (commissioned) objects ordered by European trading companies like the Dutch East India Company from the 17th century onwards.

Exhibition

In recent years, the Princessehof has been committed to highlighting under-represented stories in the museum. Recent examples in which this acquisition policy has been successfully applied at Princessehof include the purchase of the 19th-century Wedgwood antislavery medallion and an 18th-century cup and saucer produced in Meissen. Like these acquisitions, the kinrande box will occupy a central place in the museum’s permanent exhibition; furthermore it is a valuable addition to the primarily Eurocentric perspective, as it sheds light on the story of inter-Asian production, trade relations and cultural exchanges. Objects illustrating the inter-Asian exchange are in short supply in the Netherlands. This new acquisition by the Princessehof is therefore also a valuable addition to the national Netherlands Collection.

Support

The Princessehof’s collection is largely reliant on donations and legacies. Without external support, purchases like this would not be possible, and we greatly appreciate our partners’ generosity and commitment. The acquisition of the Chinese tiered kinrande box was made possible with support from the Mondriaan Fund and the Princessehof’s two friend associations: the Friends of the Princessehof, who supported the purchase to mark their 50th anniversary, and Club Céramique.

Partners of the Princessehof: Ottema-Kingma Foundation, Association of Friends of the Princessehof Ceramics Museum and Club Céramique.

Princessehof Ceramics Museum is co-funded by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science and the Municipality of Leeuwarden