Japanese Porcelain Dish. Decor In Cobalt Blue Underglaze. Arita Kilns End Of 17°.

Hard porcelain dish decorated in underglaze cobalt blue. The scene represents a pavilion in a garden raised on the edge of a lake, several characters animate it. Probably scholars. The designs are artistically stylized in a very Japanese spirit. In the sky the clouds are drawn in a style typical of this period. The edge is glazed in brown. On the reverse appears the mark "Fuku". The quality is excellent, the blue is bright, the designs precise and the firing perfect. The style and quality are those of Kakiemon kilns, but it is an Arita creation from the end of the 17th century. The Kyushu National Ceramics Museum in Arita,houses an identical, but smaller, dish from the Shibata collection and dates it to 1680-1700. Only 2 other examples of this dish are known. This is a very rare porcelain with its place in the most prestigious collections. 277x47mm. Excellent condition except for slight chips on the edge visible on photos.