Edo Period Blue & White Arita Plate

Underglaze blue Japanese export porcelain plate, c. 1680.
 
Dimensions: Approximately 8” diameter.
 
Decoration: 
The border is decorated with a continuous landscape scene of trees, mountains, and what appears to be a structure in the background.
 
The central scene is of a tree-filled landscape with water in the foreground, a hut or other structure on stilts, and what appears to be the edge of a building or screen to the left. 
 
The reverse has three kiln spurs and a Robert McPherson Antiques label.
 
A larger dish of a similar design is illustrated in “Complete Catalogue of Shibata Collection” published by the Kyushu Ceramic Museum, 1990) page 248, plate 1923.
 
In its description of a similar central scene on a plate illustrated at page 148 of Jorg, “Fine & Curious, Japanese Export Porcelain in Dutch Collections” the author notes that the “depiction of small cabin or pavilion in the water is rare….”
 
With the disruption of the Jingdezhen kilns in the middle of the 17the century, the Dutch East India Company (Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie or VOC) turned to Japan to provide porcelain for the Dutch market. This was primarily blue and white wares produced at the Arita kilns.
 
Blue-and white plates and dishes were usually decorated in the Wanli Kraak style, i.e. a border divided into panels of at least two patterns with a pictorial center design. This piece, however, differs in that its border is decorated with a continuous scene.
 
By the 1680s, the Jingdezhen kilns were back in operation, producing porcelain for export in larger quantities and at lower cost than the Japanese kilns. Consequently, imports from Japan rapidly declined. However private trade continued into the 18th century and traditional designs continued to be produced into the late 18th to early 19th centuries.
 
References:
Barry Davis Oriental Art, “Ko-Imari Porcelain from the Collection of Oliver Impey”.
Impey, “Japanese Export Porcelain”.
Jorg, “Fine & Curious, Japanese Export Porcelain in Dutch Collections”.
MacGuire, “Four Centuries of Blue & White”.
P.L.J. Arts, “Japanese Porcelain”.
Reichel, “Early Japanese Porcelain”.
Shimura, “The History of Imari, The Symbols and Mysteries of Antique Japanese Porcelain”.
 
Condition: In excellent condition consistent with age and usage. Please examine the photos; they are part of the description.