Dish, porcelain painted in underglaze blue; Japan, Arita, Meiji period, 1875

The decoration is in underglaze blue, which is rather dark and heavy in places, and the design of a tranquil scene, although well executed, is not as fluid and spontaneous as one might expect. The dish is almost totally covered with the decoration, leaving little space for the observer's eye to rest on. The type of subject matter was extremely popular with both western and Japanese collectors of the period.

The dish is one of a pair, the other being equally large but in a different style, with lacquer birds applied to the surface. Both were bought by the Museum directly from the Paris International Exhibition of 1878, where the Koransha company were awarded a gold medal for their ceramics. It is interesting to note that the Kogei Shiryo, published in the same year as the Paris Exhibition, mentions that of the 1500 labourers employed by the ceramic factories of Arita, as many as 450 worked for Koransha, making it one of the largest ceramic producers in Japan at that time.

Purchased from the Paris Exhibition, 1878, accessioned in 1878. This acquisition information reflects that found in the Asia Department registers, as part of a 2022 provenance research project.

The decoration on this dish is in underglaze blue, which is rather dark and heavy in places. The design of a tranquil scene, although well executed, is not as fluid and spontaneous as one might expect. This type of subject-matter was extremely popular with both western and Japanese collectors in the later 19th century. The dish is one of a pair, the other being equally large but in a different style, with lacquer birds applied to the surface. Both were bought by the Museum directly from the Paris International Exhibition of 1878.

688-1878