Imari soba choko (noodle cup), Edo period
September 2013 Auction by Far East Asian Art

This is an Imari soba choko (cup used for eating buckwheat noodles) from the late Edo period (also known as "bakumatsu").

It is decorated in traditional Imari style with flowers, bamboo plants and stylized vines in overglaze red, orange, green, greyish-purple and gold as well as two different shades of underglaze blue. The inside bears the stylized "three friends of winter" - bamboo, plum and pine. The underside is undecorated and unmarked...