17th Century Japanese Arita Blue and White Kraak-Style Porcelain Charger, circa 1680

Blue and White Arita Porcelain Charger in the Kraak Style
Japan, Edo period, circa 1680

A Japanese Arita porcelain charger painted in underglaze cobalt blue. The central medallion depicts a flower basket on a fenced terrace, filled with flowering peonies and tall leafy stems. Two smaller plants flank the main arrangement.

The broad rim is divided into six wide panels containing stylised bamboo, peony and prunus, separated by narrow radiating panels decorated with scrollwork in darker blue. The strong radial composition and alternating border panels were derived from Chinese Kraak porcelain produced for export during the late Ming dynasty.

Following the disruption of Chinese porcelain exports in the mid-seventeenth century, Dutch merchants increasingly turned to the Japanese kilns at Arita. Japanese potters adapted familiar Chinese Kraak and Transitional designs for the European market, retaining their recognisable compositions while translating them into a distinctly Japanese style of painting.

Large blue and white Arita dishes were exported through the Dutch East India Company during the second half of the seventeenth century. Comparable border designs also occur on Japanese porcelain bearing the VOC monogram and on a dated armorial dish from around 1667, supporting a date in the period 1660–1690 for this group.

With its vigorous cobalt decoration, flower basket motif and Kraak-style panelled border, this antique Japanese porcelain charger is a characteristic example of early Arita export porcelain made for the Dutch market.

Dating: circa 1680, within the documented 1660–1690 production period.