Chinese late Ming dish, Tianqi

Code: IB257

An attractive Chinese dish, boldly decorated in underglaze blue of a deep indigo colour, and dating from the late Ming period.  The dish has been decorated in the centre with a scene of a traveler and his attendant arriving at the gate of a town, with a pennant flying above and with a mountain peak in the distance.  There are two swiftly-painted men in boats in the foreground.  The rim is decorated with a band of diaper pattern and with panels with fans. Diameter 22.6cm (8.9”)

This dish was almost certainly made for the Japanese market, and exported from China to Japan.

The dish comes with an old wooden box and cloth bag  made for it in Japan.

Date: Tianqi or Chongzhen (c1621-1640)

Condition:

This dish is in very good condition. There  with glaze fritting around the rim, an very small ‘nick’ to the rim (see image) and a small shallow chip to the inside of the foot rim.  The dish has warped slightly in the firing, and there are a few areas of the base not covered with glaze.  There is some kiln grit adhering in the glaze to the interior a exterior (see images).  The wooden box has a split in the lid