Abstract
The chapter deals with the porcelain produced in Japan in Arita on the island of Kyūshū since the early 17th century till the Meiji period with a special emphasize to the Ariana Museum collections. In the middle of the 17th century, when East India Companies' traders were no longer able to buy porcelain from Jingdezhen because of civil war in China, they turned to Japan.
Specific forms and decoration were commissioned for the Western market. Arita potters sometimes copied them from Chinese or European models.
The painted designs are extremely varied: as well as the blue and white of the kraak or Transition style, the shimmering polychrome motifs of Imari, Kakiemon and Nabeshima wares appeared. Production methods of the latter were a closely guarded secret.
In turn, Japanese style influenced Chinese and European ceramics. The Ariana collections preserve nearly 800 items, dating from the mid-17th to the early 20th century.
It i sone of the largest Swiss collection of Japanese cetamics. It includes several very rare pieces which are worldly unique and important for better understanding of the history of the production of Japanese porcelain and ceramics.