Important Cultural Property Top-shaped bowl with design of five ships, overglaze enamels and gold

This bowl is decorated with five Dutch ships: three, large and small, on the inside and two on the outside. The peony motifs on the inside suggest European crests; pairs of Dutch figures hold fans, pipes, and hats. Large and small Dutch figures have also been painted in the red roundels on the outside. The character kotobuki (long life) is written in the center of the foot. Imari ware was exported by the Dutch from the mid seventeenth century on, and it is possible that Dutch ships and Dutch people were likened to takarabune (ships bearing good fortune) and gods of good luck, as were Southern Barbarian (European) ships and Southern Barbarians.