Japanese Blue and White Voc Dish, 17th Century

Ref: Y969

Archive item - not for sale

Japanese blue and white VOC dish, 17th century, decorated in the centre with the monogram VOC (for Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie), surrounded by two ho-o birds (phoenixes) with fruiting peach and camellia, the rim with six radiating border panels in the Kraak style enclosing floral decoration divided by narrow bands of floral scrolls, diameter: 14in., 35.6cm;

Condition:

minor glaze faults, dish slightly warped.

Notes:

The monogram is that of the Dutch East India Company, established in 1602. Many of these dishes were commissioned for use in the Company's stations at Batavia etc., whilst others were brought back for trade in Europe. A similar dish from the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford (1976.59) is illustrated in Ayers, Impey & Mallet, 'Porcelain for Palaces: The Fashion for Japan in Europe', (1990), p. 94, pl. 32. An example can also be found in David S. Howard, 'The Choice of the Private Trader', (1994), p. 39, pl. 4. SOLD