Large Blue-and-White Charger
19th Century. Meiji period
16¾” x 16¾”
 
Japanese blue-and-white wares were originally made for largely for domestic consumption, used as daily ordinary household wares. The simplicity of color and utilitarian look suit the Japanese surroundings and Japanese taste. Later, large plates were made and exported for exhibition purposes to show the skill of the decorator and the maker. Large plates are exceedingly difficult to make because they tend to sag out of shape when fired. To obtain the perfect specimen many must be rejected for blemishes in shape, glaze or decoration.

The charger shown is done entirely in under-the-glaze blue-and-white. It has a scalloped white rim with an under-the-glaze blue border of crowded scrolling pattern that could be stylized clouds but most likely represent the curly tail of the lion-dog that is part of the decoration on the plate.

The center of the plate is divided by a zigzag line. The space above the line is decorated with a Buddhist lion-dog, some coins and tassels, designs borrowed from the Chinese. These motifs are painted on a ground filled with tiny circles with a dot in the middle, which serve to fill in empty space. The decoration below the zigzag line is of stylized peony flowers scattered among scrolling vines. The Japanese version of the lion-dog is frequently shown with the peony flower to represent the king of beasts with the king of flowers.

The bottom of the plate is decorated with alternating peony flower and coin design linked by a ring of scrolling vine, on a white ground. In the center is found a seal mark in under-the-glaze blue with Chinese script that reads, in Japanese pronunciation, “Dai Min Sei Ka Nen Sei”, which approximate English reading, “Made in the reign of Cheng Hua of the Great Ming Dynasty”. This Ming emperor (1465-1487) is known as Sei-ka in Japan. This seal mark was used on a great quantity of porcelains exported from Japan in the 18th century. It in no way means the object was actually made in the Ming period. It just means that Ming pottery was so admired by the Japanese as well as Westerners, that the Japanese potters wanted their models to have a Ming mark, not to cheat, but to express this admiration.