Dish

Late 17th-early 18th century

Japan, Saga Prefecture

Porcelain painted with underglaze cobalt blue and overglaze enamels ([Arita ware,] Nabeshima [type] ware)

H. 3 3/8 x Diam. 11 3/8 in. (8.6 x 28.9 cm)

Asia Society, New York: Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection, 1979.250

This dish is decorated with pomegranate branches, the large fruit symbolizing abundance and fertility. The subtle yet luminous colors of the underglaze cobalt blue and overglaze red, green and yellow enamels are balanced beautifully against the white of the porcelain body. Both the coins-with-ribbons motif on the exterior of the dish and the comb pattern on the foot are typical, and until the late 19th century exclusive, of Nabeshima ware, whose production was tightly controlled by and targeted for the local Nabeshima domain lord (daimyo) and his family. This piece is larger than the standard Nabeshima dish.