A Rare 17th Century Ko-Kutani Style Dish Japanese Porcelain Dish

A Rare 17th Century Ko-Kutani Style Dish Japanese Porcelain Dish, Arita Kilns c.1650 – 1660. This heavy, thickly potted Japanese porcelain dish has an everted rim. Enamelled Japanese porcelain of this type was thought to have been made at kilns in Enuma County, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan, but it is now known to have been made at Arita. So, somewhat confusingly this type Japanese porcelain is referred to Arita porcelain in Ko-Kutani style. This dish with a narrow everted rim, lightly crazed glaze, and limited palette s typical of Ko-Kutani style porcelain of this period. The thickly applied enamels with burst bubbles consist of dark aubergine, mustard yellow and dark green, with outlines as well as details in black. This type of decoration was much copied in the 19th Century. The scene shows a bird on a branch, perhaps a Oriental cuckoo (Cuculus optatus) with other branches from a section of branch.