From the exhibition
Design for a Jug
Noritake, Japan and New York, New York, USA · circa 1880

This design drawing shows a decorative ceramic jug produced by Noritake, the Japanese porcelain manufacturer with operations in New York. The composition features a stoneware pitcher with hand-painted floral motifs—pink and blue peonies with green foliage and butterfly—framed by geometric borders in blue and gold. The ornamental handle and banding reflect Anglo-Japanese aesthetic principles popular in late-19th-century design. The preliminary sketch reveals the collaborative process between Japanese artists and American markets, documenting how Noritake adapted traditional floral painting techniques to Western domestic tableware during the Meiji era's aggressive export strategy.
Public domain, restored and presented by comicbooks.com CC0