Lobed plate with peony and tendril design

A twig of peony with a blossom, bud and leaves is painted within a very small central medallion. The rest of the decoration in underglaze cobalt blue consists of dense scrollwork of karakusa grass and foliage. Such decoration was popular in Arita, especially in the second half of the 18th century. The reverse bears sparser karakusa grass without foliage. The bottom bears an apocryphal signature executed in underglaze cobalt blue: “Tai Min Seika nensei” and one strip in cobalt blue. The colours of the enamels used in the central medallion suggest it was painted later than the rest of the plate’s decoration. It cannot be ruled out that the painting was done very late, perhaps in the early 20th century, because the lustre and density of the enamels do not correspond to Japanese colour types. The rim was restored in the Japanese manner – using natural lacquer to cover the damaged part of the rim. (See Filip Suchomel – Marcela Suchomelová, Mistrovská díla japonského porcelánu, Praha 1997, p. 161.)