Ming Porcelain Dish for the Japanese Market, Tianqi Period

1621 - 1627

A Ming Porcelain Dish Made for the Japanese Market, Transitional, Tianqi Period 1621-1627. Decorated in Blue and White with Two Scholars in a Landscape.

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Condition
In good condition. Mushihui fritting and small glaze chips. The inside of the footrim with a long section of chipping.
Size
Diameter : 15 cm (5 3/4 inches)
Provenance
From a English Private Collection of Chinese and Japanese Ceramics.
Stock number
23915

Photos

Information

Ko-Sometsuke :
Ko-Sometsuke, meaning `Old Blue and White` is a term used to describe Chinese blue and white porcelain made for Japan. This late Ming porcelain was made from the Wanli period (1573-1620) and ended in the Chongzhen period (1628-1644), the main period of production being the 1620`2 and 1630`s. The porcelain objects produced were made especially for the Japanese market, both the shapes and the designs were tailored to Japanese taste, the production process too allowed for Japanese aesthetics to be included in the finished object. Its seams firing faults were added, repaired tears in the leather-hard body were too frequent to not, in some cases, be deliberate. These imperfections as well as the fritting Mushikui (insect-nibbled) rims and kiln grit on the footrims all added to the Japanese aesthetic. The shapes created were often expressly made for the Japanese tea ceremony meal, the Kaiseki, small dishes for serving food at the tea ceremony are the most commonly encountered form. Designs, presumably taken from Japanese drawings sent to China, are very varied, often using large amount of the white porcelain contrasting well with the asymmetry of the design.