Large porcelain dish

This large porcelain dish is decorated in underglaze blue, the blue-and-white porcelain that was in great demand when the Chinese porcelain trade to the West was at its height in the early seventeenth century. Chinese exports declined after the fall of the Ming dynasty in 1644. The Japanese made their own adaptations of this Chinese export ware at Arita towards the end of the seventeenth century, and took over the export trade to Europe through the Dutch East India Company.The freedom of the brushwork and the more naturalistic assymetrical design of the central roundel distinguishes this piece from Chinese works.