A Rare 17th Century Japanese Porcelain Lotus Leaf Dish with Three Egrets.

c.1660 - 1680.

A Rare 17th Century Japanese Porcelain Lotus Leaf Dish with Three Egrets, Arita Kilns c.1660 – 1680. This Japanese porcelain dish is moulded in the form of a lotus leaf, the veins of the leaf radiate from a circle in the center. In the foreground, moulded in high relief are four egrets huddled together. The birds have details such as feathers and eyes painted in fine detail, an inky blue wash has been used to give the design more impact. Dishes of this type were made for the Japanese market, although Japan exported porcelain to Europe during this period, via the Dutch, they almost certainly would not have exported this type. The only one I have seen in the West is a damaged dish from the Trihorn Collection which was sold in 2013 and then re-sold in May 2022. See ‘References’ and ‘Information’ below. The present ko-Imari dish matches one in the Shibata Collection, Commemorative Exhibition For The Contribution, Shibatas Collection, Part 3, see ‘References’.

See Below For More Photographs and Information.

SOLD

Condition
There are three chips, mostly visible on the back, and a very small chip on the rim. See our Photograph Gallery below.
Size
Diameter 14.3 cm (5.6 inches).
Provenance
Purchased in Japan.
Stock number
27496
References
The only example of this dish I have see comes from the Tryhorn Collection. It was sold in January 2013 at Bearnes, Hampton and Littlewood, I think it made £4,200. Donald Tryhorn (1942-2007) of Kingsbridge (Devon) collected a large number of 18th and 19th century European ceramics including examples of Bow, Bristol, Plymouth, Chantilly and St Cloud porcelain, with a particular focus on Kakiemon wares. His collection also featured early Japanese pieces such as this one. This dish was sold at Woolley and Wallis of Salisbury, in their Japanese Works of Art sale, on 17 May 2022, lot 6 for £4,000 plus buyer's premium. For a almost identical dish in the Shibata Collection see : Commemorative Exhibition For The Contribution, Shibatas Collection, Part 3, (Published in 1993) page 68 plate 162, another dish of the same design but far more rustic, is illustrated on the same page, plate 161, it is slightly earlier c.1650-1670.

Photos

Information

A Very Similar 17th Century Japanese Arita Dish from The Tryhorn Collection.

Sold at Woolley and Wallis of Salisbury, in their Japanese Works of Art sale, on 17 May 2022, lot 6 for £4,000 plus premium.

https://www.woolleyandwallis.co.uk/departments/japanese-korean-art/jp170522/view-lot/6/

 

Japanese Works of Art - 17 May 2022 LOT 6 A RARE JAPANESE BLUE AND WHITE MOULDED DISH (MUKOZUKE) Estimate: £1,500 - £2,000 Sold for £4,000 + Buyers Premium A RARE JAPANESE BLUE AND WHITE MOULDED DISH (MUKOZUKE) EDO PERIOD, C.1655-80 With a foliate rim, the well decorated with three cranes and flowers in underglaze blue, the birds moulded in low relief, with gintsugi silver lacquer repair, raised on a short foot and the reverse with two sprays of flowers and spiralling tendrils, the base with a paper collection label for the Tryhorn Collection, 14cm. Provenance: formerly the Tryhorn Collection. Donald Tryhorn (1942-2007) of Kingsbridge (Devon) collected a large number of 18th and 19th century European ceramics including examples of Bow, Bristol, Plymouth, Chantilly and St Cloud porcelain, with a particular focus on Kakiemon wares. His collection also featured early Japanese pieces such as this one. Cf. The Kyushu Ceramic Museum, Complete Catalogue of Shibata Collection, p.109, no.0858, and p.169, no.1343 for two other related examples.