Usually, when Rengetsu uses lotus motifs in her cermic objects, she adds design elements (e.g. veins and roots) to a non-representational shape, but in this case, the entire body of the plate is a leaf, with a coiling root for a pedestal. (Catalogue 2014, p. 140.)
 
Won't you open
the lotus inside
and turn
those demons
from your heart?
 
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Otagaki Rengetsu (1791-1875)
Dish
Glazed ceramic
H: 4.7 (1 3/4 in.)
D: 16 cm (6 1/4 in.)
Wooden box