Arita Japan Porcelain Dish 18th Century. Guan-yin And The 100 Children.

Exceedingly rare hard porcelain dish from arita. Painted in yellow, green, blue and red enamels. The decor represents many children, seated in a building in front of a covered vase, perhaps a funerary urn. Dominating the assembly, the central character of a trio is the only one wearing a hat. Above the trio three Chinese characters are drawn in red on a panel. It seems to be a religious ceremony but the youth of the assembly is perplexing. Understanding the 3 characters should solve the enigma. It should be noted that the blue is an overglaze enamel and not a "grand feu"underglaze blue. A dish bearing a similar decoration is housed at the National Kyushu Ceramic Museum in Arita. 4 other dishes were sold by Sothebys in London in 1988. We know of no others.
Japan, 18th century Arita kilns. Good condition.
Diameter 172mm.