Kinrande stacking box

Four-piece porcelain tiered box

What kind of sweet snacks were conjured up from this porcelain box from the 16th century? Would they have been as beautiful works of art as the stunning object they were stored in? In the period of 1500 to 1600, luxurious porcelain objects in kinrande style were often used during Japanese tea ceremonies. The colours were created after a labour-intensive process in which the porcelain was baked in a kiln several times. The decoration was then applied with gold leaf and polished. On the 4-piece porcelain stacking box from Jingdezhen in our museum, you can see decorations on all 4 sides with scenes of people in an outdoor landscape through geometric patterns and prunus flowers.

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. Only three such pieces are known worldwide, the other two being in private collections in Japan and Brazil. As such, this specific box is the only kinrande box in the world that is displayed in a public collection.

Kinrande stacking box (1500 - 1600), porcelain, on loan from Ottema-Kingma Stichting.

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, it was fashionable in 15th century 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.

Adapting to the tastes of foreign markets

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.