Antique Japanese Ko-Imari porcelain plate – Sometsuke mijin-karakusa patterns – Edo 19th century – 15cm

Features

Origin: Japan, Arita (有田), former Hizen Province
Estimated Period: Late Edo period, 19th century, 1830-1868, probably around Bakumatsu
Type: Ko-Imari 古伊万里, Arita-yaki (有田焼), namasu-zara 膾皿, sometsuke 染付, rinka rim 輪花
Material: Japanese porcelain
Decoration: Hand-painted Mijin-karakusa 微塵唐草, shōchikubai 松竹梅 medallion, stylized karakusa on the reverse
Colors: Bluish-white and underglaze cobalt blue gosu
Diameter: approx. 15 cm
Height: approx. 4.5 cm
Weight: approx. 289 g
Condition: Good antique condition, fine hairline cracks not very noticeable to the touch, previously repaired (see photos). The rest of the plate is very well preserved

Description

Very beautiful old Japanese Ko-Imari 古伊万里 deep plate, produced in the tradition of Arita porcelains, in the former Hizen Province.

This piece is estimated to be from the late Edo period, in the 19th century, probably during the last decades of the shogunate between the 1830s and 1868. Entirely decorated in sometsuke 染付, it uses cobalt blue gosu applied under a transparent glaze.

Its shape corresponds to the namasu-zara 膾皿, a small deep serving plate, here highlighted by a polylobed rim of the rinka 輪花 type, resembling the shape of a flower.

The interior is covered with dense mijin-karakusa 微塵唐草, a plant motif of climbing plants derived from karakusa 唐草. Throughout the Edo period, the patterns of stems and leaves of climbing plants forming arabesques were very popular and gradually evolved, becoming increasingly simplified and stylized. In the 19th century, at the end of Edo, mijin-karakusa pushed this stylization to the point of becoming a small repeated motif almost resembling scales. This plate represents this very typical motif of the late Edo period.

In the center, a medallion features the shōchikubai 松竹梅, a traditional association of pine, bamboo, and plum. A dark geometric frieze separates this medallion from the mijin-karakusa field. The reverse shows a karakusa motif freely painted in cobalt.

The underside shows a janome-kōdai 蛇の目高台, a "snake eye" foot consisting of a wide unglazed ring. The concentric turning marks, wear, and coloration of the foot are consistent with ancient manufacture and use.

🦝 Our opinion

A very beautiful late Edo Ko-Imari Japanese porcelain, we really like the very effective simplicity of the underglaze blue combined with the white of the porcelain. We love the mijin-karakusa motif, fashionable in late Edo, which almost becomes a pattern of repeated dots in the samekomon style!

An authentic and decorative piece, ideal for a collection of Ko-Imari porcelains or to add a touch of Japanese history to the table.