Coupelle Sometsuke rectangulaire Arita Japon Edo XVII XVIII Japan Asie

Description

This Japan Arita dish is a rectangular porcelain piece decorated in underglaze cobalt blue, a technique known as sometsuke. It is offered with a proposed attribution to the Edo period, 17th–18th century.

Measuring 21 × 11.4 cm and standing 3 cm high, the dish has gently raised sides, shaped corners and a rectangular foot. Its elongated format brings together a central botanical composition and a densely decorated border.

Japan Arita dish with botanical decoration

The central panel depicts pine, bamboo and flowering prunus, recalling the decorative theme known as the Three Friends of Winter. Dark trunks and branches contrast with lighter washes used for the foliage and blossoms.

A double blue line frames the central composition. Around it, a broad border is filled with scrolling foliage and small decorative motifs. The contrast between this closely patterned border and the larger plants in the centre gives the design a clear structure.

Decoration continues on the exterior, where separate blue ornaments are arranged along the sides. Painted lines also run around the rectangular foot. The photographs show the dish from above, underneath and in profile, allowing its shape and decoration to be examined together.

The Fuki chōshun inscription

Four characters painted beneath the base read 富貴長春, known in Japanese as Fuki chōshun. This auspicious inscription conveys a wish for lasting prosperity. It is a goodwill formula rather than an imperial reign mark or the signature of an identified maker.

The inscription is documented on Arita porcelain from different periods. It therefore provides useful cultural context but does not independently establish the date of this particular dish.

Material and surface

The decoration is painted in cobalt blue beneath the glaze. The photographs show variations in the strength of the blue, small brown specks and local irregularities in the glaze surface.

These features form part of the physical description of the dish. They are not presented as independent proof of its age or of a particular firing method.

Details

• Origin: Arita, Japan.
• Object: rectangular shallow dish.
• Material: porcelain.
• Technique: sometsuke, underglaze cobalt-blue decoration.
• Motifs: pine, bamboo, flowering prunus and scrolling foliage.
• Base inscription: 富貴長春 — Fuki chōshun.
• Proposed date: Edo period, 17th–18th century.
• Length: 21 cm.
• Width: 11.4 cm.
• Height: 3 cm.
• Weight: 354 g.