Asian Ceramics

KUTANI plate, Japan

A multicolored bowl-shaped dish with a floral painting in the colors black, white, manganese, yellow, gold and various shades of green, copper red and blue on a gray, finely crackled background. The decoration represents a tree peony with buds and large flowers. We also see one small prunus flower in iron red at the bottom of the saucer. In the same color at the top left we see a large cloud in which again golden, smaller, lucky clouds. The bottom of the ascending wall is decorated with black wave patterns on a green background. The foot rim is unglazed and the gray glazed bottom shows an iron-red rectangle on which the characters kutani are brushed in gold. 

Porcelain
Nineteenth century..
Japan, Kutani (Place name meaning "nine valleys").
Height 5.6 cm. Diameter 22.2 cm

Provenance:

This dish is number 628 from the collection of Mr. Ernst Heldring, (1871-1954) (shipowner, respectively president of the Nederlandsche Handelmaatschappij), mentioned in his purchase notes as follows: 628, 1937 bought at Yokoyama earthenware dish, Kutaniwaar, coloured.