JAPAN, EDO PERIOD, 17TH CENTURY

It is rare to find this model in this palette and to find a pair makes it even more unusual. Japanese porcelain was highly prized in Europe in the 18th century where pieces were often embellished with exquisite ormolu mounts. A Japanese carp in a similar but not identical palette, with ormolu mounts, is listed in the de Rothschild Collection at Waddeson Manor, inv. no.2677, and is illustrated in this catalogue in the footnote for lot 117. The present lot may also be compared to the green, orange and red carp, mounted in ormolu as a table fountain, lot 117. A kakiemon carp with ormolu mounts is illustrated in O. Impey, Porcelain for Palaces, London, 1990, fig. 141, p. 164. The rich enamel palette on this pair of fish may be compared with the enamels on a Kakiemon duck illustrated in the same publication, fig. 171, p. 185.