Square-Shaped Arita Sometsuke Dish, Edo
August 2014 Auction by Far East Asian Art

This boldly decorated 19th century Japanese Arita sometsuke (blue and white porcelain) charger in square form (“kaku-zara”) is hand painted with a deep cobalt blue landscape scene surrounded by a diapered design and a floral border around the rim. The single blue mark on the foot dates it to the early to mid-19th century. The reverse is hand painted with stylized decorations in cobalt blue surrounding the high unglazed foot rim, which is encircled by four underglaze blue lines...