Catalog: Antiques: Regional Art: Asian: Japanese: Porcelain (9)

Ao Imari (blue/green Imari) Sometsuke Kakuzara. A square blue-green Imarai Plate. ca. late 18th- early 19th C. Japan. 10.75" (27.25cm) square. Shoki Imari, using underglaze cobalt blue painting with oftentimes borrowed Chinese motifs, such as this piece, were made in the Arita kilns near the port of Imari from the 17th Century. This is also an example of fairly rare "Ao Imari," (literally "blue" Imari) with a green-blue background rather than the standard porcelain white background...

Imari ware porcelain soba choko with underglaze cobalt blue pattern of "azami" (thistle.) Mid-late Edo Period (1600-1868.) H.6cm (2.3") Dia.7cm (2.6"). A playful rendering of a thistle adorns both sides of this soba choko, with bands around the bottom of the cup. Some minor glaze crazing and cracks, but overall fine condition. Soba choko were initially used for small food items, much like mukozuke or ko-zara are used in today's presentation of Japanese cuisine...

Imari ware soba choko (soba noodle dipping cup) from the mid-late Edo period (1600-1868.) Porcelain with underglaze cobalt blue painting of "takenoko" bamboo shoot pattern. H.5.5cm(2.17") x Dia.7.5cm(2.95"). A crack in the rim has been repaired using synthetic gold and lacquer. Soba choko were originally used for small morsels of food much like the mukozuke is used in today's Japanese place setting...

Early Meiji Era Soba Choko with landscape design painted in underglaze cobalt blue on porcelain. Average height of 6cm and average diameter of 7 cm. Though widely attributed to Arita kilns; by the late Edo and Early Meiji Periods, porcelain soba choko were also being made in Seto, as well as at kilns further north in Tohoku. This set of 5 features a typical land/seascape scene of a hut and the sea with a boat and birds flying overhead. All cups are in good condition featuring the same pattern.

Imari ware porcelain soba choko (soba noodle dipping cups) from the mid-Edo Period (1600-1868.) H.5.5cm(2.2") Dia.7cm(2.6".) This pair features underglaze cobalt blue pattern with two of the three friends of winter; pine and plum (the other being bamboo,) front and back of each cup. Abbreviated brushstrokes give these cups an aesthetic of simple beauty. Soba choko were initially used for small morsels of food, much like mukozuke or ko-zara are used in today's presentation of Japanese cuisine...

Imari ware soba choko from the mid-Edo Period (1600-1868). Porcelain with underglaze cobalt blue painting of "houzuki" (Chinese lantern plant), a very unusual and delightful pattern among soba choko.H.5.5cm, Dia.8cm.

Porcelain with underglaze cobalt blue Soba Choko, featuring a lovely land/seascape scene of mountains, willow tree, a hut, and the sea with boat sails and birds flying overhead. Average height 6cm, average diameter 7cm. Although soba choko are generally attributed to Arita kilns, by the late Edo-Early Meiji Period, they were also being made in Seto, as well as at kilns further north in Tohoku. These 5 cups all feature the same pattern and are all in good condition.

A pair of Imari ware soba choko (soba noodle dipping cups) from the mid-Edo Period (1600-1868,) porcelain with underglaze cobalt blue painted design of "tampopo" (dandelion) and "cho cho" (butterflies.) H.6cm, Dia. 8.5cm. Each cup has the dandelion pattern on front, and butterflies on back. The painting on these cups is wonderfully playful, and a fine example of the stylized brushstrokes of mingei (folk) wares...

Imari ware bowls for serving small amounts of food were known as "kurowanka." These bowls feature a "sansui" land & sea scape scene in underglaze cobalt blue on a porcelain body. Each piece is in god condition with individual measurements of H.4cm X Dia.15cm.