Kakemono Cooking Pot

An iron Cooking Pot hanging from a chain, painted with few but confident brushstrokes that make the weight and rough surface of the metal palpable – an unusual still-life motif set apart from the common flower and bird paintings.

The hanging device with its adjustable hook is rendered in detail and refers to the traditional open hearth (irori) of Japanese farmhouses, over which such kettles were hung for cooking and heating. A small detail inside the pot, reminiscent of a tiny creature, lends an otherwise sober everyday scene a surprising, almost humorous twist.

Such depictions of household objects show the appreciation of Japanese painting for the everyday and unassuming, and make for an appealing collector's piece for lovers of unusual pictorial motifs.