Kosometsuke Antique Chinese Porcelain 17c Ming Dynasty serving dish LOTUS

Out of stock

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Condition Report: Some minimal fleebites to the underside rim only. Size: 13x3.3CM DiameterxHeight

Here we have a very rare late Ming kaiseki dish, made for the Japanese tea ceremony. The dish is decorated in reverse decoration, creating a very unusual and striking effect. Similar reverse-decorated pieces from the same period are illustrated in the Marchant catalogue Ming Porcelain for the Japanese Market: Ko-sometsuke & Ko-akai.

Reference:
S. Marchant & Son, Ming Porcelain for the Japanese Market: Ko-sometsuke & Ko-akai, introduction by Julia B. Curtis (London: S. Marchant & Son, 2008).

Filled with a dense scrolling lotus pattern. You can see several stylized lotus blossoms, surrounded by curling stems and foliage, painted in underglaze blue. This gives the impression of continuous movement and abundance.

The lotus in Chinese symbolism stands for purity, spiritual enlightenment, and rebirth, as it rises unstained from muddy water.

 

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