Meiji Period Charger – Sumo Wrestlers

Underglaze blue Japanese export porcelain charger, c. 1880.
 
Dimensions: Approximately 18” diameter.
 
Decoration:
The border is decorated with a Greek key pattern band.
 
Beneath the band and flowing into the cavetto is a band of tournament banners and curtains (noren or maku) with decorative tassels, the kind hung at official grand tournament (honbasho) venues. Alternating with the banners are diamond-lattice panels (kikkō) that also reference formal tournament decoration.
 
The central well depicts two sumo wrestlers (rikishi) actively engaged in a match. They are rendered on a stippled dark blue background reflecting the sand covered wrestling ring (dohyō) floor and are surrounded by the ring’s straw-bale border (tawara). 
 
The reverse is decorated with a Karakusa vine.
 
The foot is surrounded by thin blue lines.
 
The base has five evenly spaced spur marks and an apocryphal Chenghua mark encircled by a thin blue line.
 
The two-dimensional design replicates the woodblock prints (ukiyoe) of the period illustrating Sumo matches. The overall composition reads as a formal tournament match rather than a casual or mythologized wrestling scene — grounded, specific, and clearly drawn by an artist with direct familiarity with sumo culture. As in the case of woodblock prints that portrayed popular rikishi, it is possible that these participants could have been readily identified by their fans.
 
References:
Bickford, “Sumo and the Woodblock Print Masters”.
Jahn, “Meiji Ceramics”.
P.L.J. Arts, “Japanese Porcelain”.
 
Condition: In excellent condition consistent with age and usage. Please examine the photos; they are part of the description.
 
PLEASE NOTE: This is a large and heavy item to ship.