Bowl
Decorator Kataro Shirayamadani American, born Japan
Manufactured by Rookwood Pottery Company American
The Rookwood Pottery, founded by Maria Longworth Nichols in 1880, became one of the most significant and longest surviving of all American art potteries, remaining in operation until well after World War II. During Rookwood’s early years, Nichols made significant contributions to work in the barbotine manner, a technique of using pigmented slip applied in a painterly fashion under a clear glaze. In 1887 Kataro Shirayamadani, a Japanese porcelain painter, was hired to broaden the pottery’s offerings of work in the Japanesque style. While a talented artist, Shirayamadani had no previous experience in underglaze painting, but quickly became one of the pottery’s most accomplished decorators in this technique.
Shirayamadani’s asymmetrical design of finely painted blossoming branches encircles the bowl. Both the subject matter and composition speak to the popularity of Japanese-inspired decoration at Rookwood Pottery.
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