A rare Ming Dynasty ko-sometsuke Scholars dish painted in rich tones of underglaze cobalt blue, the centre decorated with two tablets reading "Bi deng gao ti / Writing reaches the highest rank" encircled by calligraphy brushes, Tianqi circa 1625
 
Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province, China
Ming Dynasty (1368-1644)
Tianqi period (1621-1627)
Ko-sometsuke (Old Blue-and-White) made for the Japanese market
 
Measurements
13.3cm diameter
 
Description
The centre decorated with two tablets each containing two characters and reading bi deng gao ti, translated to 'Writing reaches the highest rank', reserved against a solid blue ground with horizontal lines likely representing tatami (reed) mats. The flat rim decorated with eight sets of calligraphy brushes, alternating between pairs and trios of brushes. The reverse loosely decorated with auspicious symbols.
 
Storage
With a traditional Japanese storage box, inner cloths and ribbon.
 
Condition
In excellent original condition.
 
Comparable Examples
An almost identical dish illustrated in Huang Qinghua The Colourful East: Catalogue of the Special Exhition of Japanese Order for China in the late Ming Dynasty (Jiangxi Fine Arts Publishing House, 2018) p.195-6, no.27.