The first Japanese porcelains were painted with underglaze cobalt blue, known as "old blue-and-white" ware (ko-sumetsuke). But by about 1640, overglaze enamels had been added to the palette. It is generally accepted that overglaze enamels were introduced to Kyushu from Kyoto rather than from China. One reason for this assumption is the use of a vibrant overglaze blue--seen here on this pair of hexagonal jars--in both Kyoto ware and Japanese porcelains, a color not found in Chinese ceramics of that period.

The majority of Japanese porcelains are classified as Arita wares, based on the location of their production. Arita wares are traditionally subdivided into Imari, Kakiemon, and Nabeshima styles (although this system is currently under revision). This pair of jars exemplifies some of the problems inherent in the use of this classification system. In Western scholarship, jars such as these are often called 'Hampton Court jars' because their shape is the same as that oftwo famous jars known to have been in the collection of Queen Mary (r. 1689-1694) atHampton Court. The jars illustrated here are painted with alternating designs of floral sprays and phoenixes on flowering branches. The translucency of the enamels, the large amount of unpainted space in the composition of each side panel, and the dense floral arabesque used in the decoration of the covers are comparable to those in the decoration of Kakiemon wares. However, two features are different. One is the use of abrown overglaze enamel, which does not appear in the paintings on the majority of Kakiemon-style porcelains; another is the body of these jars, which is darker than the milky-white body of most Kakiemon wares. It seems likely that these jars were made byceramists and enamelers who were contemporaries, and perhaps competitors, of the Kakiemon artists.