Dish; Japan, Meiji period, c. 1900.

Dish; Japan, Meiji period, c. 1900.
Hand-painted Imari porcelain.
Signed on the back.
Measurements: 6 x 41,5 cm.
Dish made of hand-painted porcelain. The ornamentation stands out for the presence of a large figurative scene of courtly character that occupies almost the entire piece. The main characteristic of the Imari style is the use of underglaze cobalt blue glaze, combined with other glazes over the glaze, mainly iron red and gilding. When it also includes gilding, as we see here, it is called Imari Nishiki. Imari pieces were produced in Japan from the third quarter of the seventeenth century until 1730-35, although there was a revival of the style during the nineteenth century. Decoratively, Imari is very free, with compositions that occupy the entire space of the piece, generally asymmetrical, combining different motifs and cartouches of various shapes, as we see here.