A rare Early Enamelled Arita Ko-Kutani moulded porcelain dish showcasing Nami-Chidori (Waves & Plover design) depicting a steadfast Plover on a rocky outcrop amongst crashing waves, its mate circling above
 
Arita kiln, Early Enamelled ware, Ko Kutani type, Kusunokidani kiln, Hizen province, Japan, early Edo period, circa 1650-60
 
MARK
An underglaze cobalt blue 'fuku' mark within double square.
 
MEASUREMENTS
12.2 cm long x 2.2 cm high
 
CONDITION
In very good condition for this very early and rare example, with several very small areas to the inner rim edge where the glaze had pulled back during firing at 3 o'clock, 4:30, 5 o'clock, 10 o'clock (filled with an early kintsugi) and 11 o'clock (filled with an early kintsugi).
 
DESCRIPTION
The shallow quadrangular form with slightly flared, gently lobed corners and an everted rim edged with a classic iron-brown enamel glaze (fuchi-beni).
 
The central rectangular medallion features an offset, asymmetric coastal vignette finely painted against a bright-white porcelain ground featuring two minimalist, expressively brushed plovers (chidori) captured in motion. One bird is rendered in flight using deep manganese-purple and cobalt-blue enamel highlights, while the second stands poised on a nearby promontory, washed in a light yellow enamel. A dynamic expanse of cresting, stylized ocean waves (nami) occupies the foreground, detailed with iron-red concentric undulating linework. The shorebird stands on deep cobalt-blue rocky formations that emerge directly out of the roiling red surf.
 
True to the bold, asymmetric aesthetic defining the gosai (five-color) Ko-Kutani idiom, the border is split into two dramatically contrasting design zones: geometric lattice in the upper and left quadrants are framed by an interlocking diaper grid or cross-diagonal diamond pattern (yomodasuki), while the lower and right margins soften the composition with fluid green scrollwork (karakusa) intertwined with stylized purple Peony or Camellia blossoms, showing loose, painterly brushwork.
 
The composition seamlessly balances native Japanese seasonal poetry—the pairing of nami-chidori (plovers and waves), a classic motif symbolizing perseverance through immense difficulties—with bold, innovative geometric framing.
 
The reverse with four underglaze blue arabesques.
 
STORAGE
With a traditional Japanese paulownia wood tomobako storage box and silk ribbon.