1700's Huge Ko-Imari Charger Marked 乾 Kenryu-Nen-Sei 染付 Sometsuke 燕 Tsubame Swallow Bird Large Plate Wall Plaque Art Arita Japan *Free SH

A classical LARGE SOMETSUKE KENRYU-NEN-SEI SQUARE MORISARA/PLATTER!

Sometsuke with dark and blue contrasts!

The central plaquette depicts a beautiful and gnarly tree with 5-petaled blossoms and buds that practically encircles the entire medallion. Reminds me either of poinsettia or forget-me-nots, ha!

There are 8 medallions, 8 being the luckiest number in Chinese Numerology! Inside each medallion is a woven basket bird trap. When the "Tsubame"/Swallowtail alights on the base, the basket drops and traps the bird without injury. I am not familiar with the two paint-brush looking plants.

I don't know if the painter was being clever but the many single stem 2-leaf buds scattered about all over, the floral bud reminds me of "Yoraku-mon"/hanging Bhuddhist ornaments!

The overall background fine pattern reminds of "kikko"/tortoise shell, but with the dots in each segment, perhaps honeycomb or caviar? ha! This background pattern is also used in the classical pattern of Uzura Quail & Millet.

The reverse of the plate/bowl is also decorated around the lip/wall in "karakusa"/arabesque curlicues in a leafy style.

PIC 5 is a stunningly bright Ko-Imari Charger 染付 Sometsuke 朝顔 Asagao Morning Glory 菊 Kiku Chrysanthemum 花王 Kaou Pioen Peony Nagazara also by this potter >

https://www.etsy.com/be/listing/387067274/1700s-qian-kenryu-nen-sei-ko-imari

Other items in my shop by this maker includes chargers, plate set and teacups >

https://www.etsy.com/shop/GuamAntiquesNstuff?ref=listing-shop2-all-items-count&search_query=Kenryu

Searching for that PERFECT CHARGER/WALL PLAQUE? Please stroll my shop with over 200 Plates from Old Delft, Chinois, Faience and Antique Japanese Porcelain from the 1700's >

https://www.etsy.com/shop/GuamAntiquesNstuff?section_id=17085618

This would be great housewarming or birthday gift!

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PHOTOS - integral to description, please use zoom feature for detailed views.

MARK > 乾
"Mark 乾 in underglaze blue: Ken. This kanji character, ken in Japanese is from the kanji characters of kenryu-nen-sei which stands for the Chinese Qianlong period (1736-1795). Japanese porcelain with 'Imari' decoration. Late Edo period (1780-1860)."

Information from an avid collector quoting a marks book in Japanese >
"According to the book this is a Japanese seal script version of the Chinese 清　乾降 period but only the 乾 part of it. The book further explains that having the character 日 under the 山 part on the left is the rarest version of this mark with most versions having 口 in that position."

SPECS- about 17.5"D x 2.375"H

CONDITION - EXCELLENT
- central medallion > several areas where the top enamel glaze has been damaged, perhaps either a kiln fault that collapsed over time?
--- the largest is 1"D and a crude attempt to paint in the missing leaves
--- 7 other places of missing glaze surface (almost like a glaze miss, but it's definitely gone
--- the 2nd largest on the right side where the trunk gets crooked, it's a bit deeper like something dropped on it
- there are about 7 other areas of what I would now say are glaze pops exposing the bisque beneath...but not pin-point...almost like an acid ate away at the glaze
- the rim has areas of roughness and minor frits
- the top of the charger, there's a small restoration to a flake on the rim
- underneath on a couple spots of the rim edge, there are black carbon faults
- scratches to the clear glaze
- foot ring > about 3 o'clock, there's a large 2" flake from the ring, it seems to be kiln related as it's glazed
- stilt & spur marks
- There are the expected kiln related faults > black and brown carbon spots, grit pops and glaze pops
- excellent condition for being about 200+/- years old!

MY SUBJECTIVE GRADING GUIDE >

Outstanding - pristine, like new
Excellent - excellent considering it's an antique (minor issues)
Good - moderate issues
Fair - more than moderate issues, okay for display, but not a prized piece
Poor - major issues = a bargain deserving of continued existence

🌴 🌴 🌴 🌴 🌴 🌴 🌴 WHERE AMERICA'S DAY BEGINS! 🌴 🌴 🌴 🌴 🌴 🌴 🌴

🌺 HÅFA ADAI from the tropical island paradise of GUAHAN (Guam/USA) 🌺

"Porcelain production began in Japan in the early seventeenth century, several hundred years after it had first been made in China during the Tang dynasty (618–906). This refined white ceramic requires more advanced technology than other ceramic types. The vessels are fired at very high temperatures so that they are strong and vitrified, as opposed to low-fired earthenware, which is porous and easily breakable. Unlike stoneware, which is high-fired but can be made from many different types of clay, porcelain is made from a specific clay mixture that includes a soft, white variety called kaolin. The smooth, semi-translucent surface of porcelain is ideal for painting delicate designs, and has been prized in both the East and West.

The Japanese porcelain industry was actually pioneered by Korean potters living in Japan. Many of them came to Japan during two invasions of Korea led by Toyotomi Hideyoshi in the 1590s. An appreciation of Korean ceramics had recently developed in Japan, and many of the feudal lords who accompanied Hideyoshi brought back Korean potters to build up the ceramic industry in their territories. The Nabeshima lord took Korean potters back to his province of Hizen on Kyushu, the southernmost of Japan's main islands. These potters would eventually become the first producers of porcelain in Japan, but they started out by reviving the production of a type of stoneware called Karatsu ware. This type of ceramic is usually simple, inexpensive, and made rapidly but skillfully on the potter's wheel. The potters also introduced a new type of kiln to Japan, the noborigama, or climbing kiln, which allows for greater precision during firing. Therefore, when in the early seventeenth century the Korean potters living in the Arita district of Hizen found suitable clay for the manufacture of porcelain, the infrastructure for its production was already in place. The Hizen region thus became the major center of porcelain production in Japan.

The first porcelain made in Japan by these Korean potters is known as early Imai. "Imari" refers to a port near the Arita kilns, from which these wares were shipped to the rest of the country. Since these porcelains were primarily for domestic consumption, the term "early" is added to distinguish them from later wares also classified as "Imari" which were typically for export. Most early Imari pieces feature designs painted in cobalt blue on a white ground, then coated in a transparent glaze, in the style known as underglaze blue. The porcelain has a coarse, grainy texture and the designs are generally carried out by a free, fluid hand. The technique of painting pictorial designs under a clear glaze was sometimes employed on Karatsu ware, so early Imari may have in part stemmed from this earlier tradition."

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I'm not an expert on Porcelain. The information above is based on my research as a collector. It's time to downsize and find an appreciative home for this exquisite piece!

Feel free to contact me if you have questions or need additional photos.

#Art