Underglaze blue Japanese Arita molded bowls, c. 1690.
 
Dimensions: Approximately 8⅜” diameter.
 
Decoration: 
The border is decorated with eight alternating decorative panels, four large and four small. 
 
Two of the large panels are decorated with an unusual mask often referred to as a “taotie”, a Chinese symbol intended to ward off evil spirits. The other two large panels are decorated with a geometric pattern. Rinaldi in “Kraak Porcelain, A Moment In The History Of Trade” at p. 130 raises the possibility that the masks could represent the Indian mythological figure “Gala”. 
 
In the cavetto below the masks are panels containing peach sprays, while below the geometric patterns are panels containing precious objects. 
 
The narrow panels contain ribbons. 
 
In the center there is a design of flowers, possible chrysanthemums, insects, and, in the background, a mountain.
 
Under the rim flower sprays, and the outer wall is decorated with four large panels of scepter heads (ruyi or ju-i) separated by smaller panels. Two blue lines encircle the foot.
 
The base of one dish has five kiln spurs and the other four.
 
This style of bowl is known as a Kaplmuts. While generically a bowl, the shape is that of a Dutch klapmuts, a uniquely Dutch form said to be named after the shape of an upside-down woolen cap of the same name. Klapmutsen are relatively shallow bowls that were heavily imported to Europe. A hypothesis is that they were better able to fit European metal spoons of the 16th and 17th century than traditional deeper Chinese bowls. Klapmutsen were produced in Delftware, Chinese Kraakware, and copied by Arita potters for export. 
 
A Chinese Kraak example with a similar border is discussed and illustrated in Rinaldi, “Kraak Porcelain” pl. 140 at pp. 129 – 133.
 
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 designed to replicate the Chinese patterns popular in the Netherlands.
Blue-and white plates, dishes, and bowls like these 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. The Arita versions closely mimic the Chinese Wanli Kraak style, but often with distinctive Japanese elements.
 
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. 
 
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”.
Rinaldi, “Kraak Porcelain”.
The Kyushu Ceramic Museum, “Complete Catalog of Shibata Collection”.
 
Condition: Minor glaze imperfections from manufacture, one dish has a frit on the foot rim; otherwise in excellent condition consistent with age and usage. Please examine the photos; they are part of the description.