### **An Arita porcelain seated hound**


**Circa 1700, Japan**

**Height: 46 cm, 18.1 inches**

The dog is naturalistically modelled seated on its haunch with front legs straight and head erect, glazed in white, and painted with patches of iron-red, brown, black and gilt over pale violet enamel. The tail is curled into a circle and tipped brown. An iron-red ribbon is tied at the nape with a pendant gilded bell, blue painted eyes have black pupils and the holes near ears served as vents for the escape of air during firing.

Only a few examples of these remarkable and naturalistic large hunting dogs are known to exist. They have always been regarded as masterpieces of the Export potter's craft, since the massive size is hard to control in the firing.

**Similar Examples**

A pair of Arita porcelain cats in the similar design is illustrated in 'The Copeland Collection: Chinese and Japanese ceramic figures', by William J. R. Sargent, cat. no. 132, page 258.