Pair of Edo Period Arita Chargers

Underglaze blue Japanese export porcelain chargers, c. 1670.
 
Dimensions: Approximately 14.5” diameter.
 
Decoration:
The border is decorated with a feathered fern-scroll design.
 
The center is of decorated with peonies, flowering stems and sweeping grasses beside a low garden fence.
 
The reverse of each is undecorated and has kiln spurs. The reverse of one has kiln grit.
 
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 chargers like this 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. However, these have a less common scroll border design.
 
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”.
P.L.J. Arts, “Japanese Porcelain”.
Reichel, “Early Japanese Porcelain”.
Shimura, “The History of Imari, The Symbols and Mysteries of Antique Japanese Porcelain”.
New Orleans Museum of Art, “Imari, Japanese Porcelain for European Palaces”.
The Kyushu Ceramic Museum, “Complete Catalog of Shibata Collection”.
The Saga Museum, “The John Coates’ Collection, A Collection of Early Arita Porcelain”, Third edition.
 
Condition: One dish has a small glaze pop in the central floral decoration and slight kiln distortion from firing, typical of large early Arita dishes of this type; otherwise in excellent condition consistent with age and usage. Please examine the photos; they are part of the description.