Nabeshima ware

Polychrome dish with maple leaves floating on waves, late 17th–early 18th century

Celadon-glazed dish with seven jars in underglaze blue, c. 1700–1720

Nabeshima ware (鍋島, Nabeshima) is a group of high-grade Japanese porcelain produced under the direct patronage and administration of the Saga Domain, ruled by the Nabeshima clan, during the Edo period. Production became centred at the domain kiln at Ōkawachiyama in the 17th century.

Unlike most porcelain made by the commercial kilns of the Hizen region, Nabeshima ware was produced principally for presentation to the Tokugawa shogunate, for gifts to other daimyō, and for use within the Nabeshima household. Its production was tightly controlled and was not intended for sale on the general market.

Nabeshima ware includes underglaze-blue, celadon, iron-glazed and polychrome overglaze-enamelled porcelains. It is particularly associated with precisely formed dishes in standardised sizes, technically controlled decoration and designs drawing upon Japanese textiles, paintings and the natural world. The vessels were not merely decorative objects but formed part of the tableware used by Japan's ruling classes. The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes the polychrome tradition known as iro-Nabeshima as especially important in the history of Japanese decorative arts, while individual works from the height of Nabeshima production have been designated Important Cultural Properties.

The domain kiln was abolished in 1871 following the abolition of the domain system. Its polychrome techniques were subsequently reorganised and transmitted by the Imaizumi Imaemon family, whose workshop had formerly carried out overglaze decoration for the domain kiln; the iro-Nabeshima tradition is now recognised as an Important Intangible Cultural Property of Japan.