A very rare late Ming Dynasty ko-sometsuke dish painted with an oceanic scene of bats circling the Chinese island of the Immortals, called Mount Horai (in Japanese) / Penglai Isle (in Chinese)
 
Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province, China
Ko-sometsuke (Old Blue-and-White) made for the Japanese market
Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), Tianqi / Chongzhen period (1621-1644)
 
Measurements
15.1 cm diameter; 2.7 cm high
 
Description
Boldly painted in underglaze cobalt blue with a moonlit scene depicting a pair of bats in flight encircling the mythical island of Mount Horai / Penglai Island, one of the three sacred islands in the East China Sea, where immortals dwell. According to ancient Chinese legend, the Eight Immortals live in a golden Palace on Mount Penglai surrounded by bejewelled trees. On the Island of the Immortals, there is no winter, no agony, no famine - rice bowls and wine glasses perpetually re-fill and enchanted fruits offer eternal youth.
 
Tradition holds that Xu Fu - a Chinese servant sent to find the mythical Island - found Japan instead and named Mount Fuji as Penglai. From the medieval period onwards, many Japanese people believed that Penglai was located on the island of Japan where Xu Fu originally landed. Others believed that Mount Horai is mere fantasy and called it Shinkiro, meaning mirage; "a vision of the intangible".
 
Ko-sometsuke, meaning "Old Blue and White" is the term used to describe Chinese blue and white porcelain made for the Japanese market during the late Ming Dynasty. Ko-sometsuke wares were produced from the Wanli period (1573-1620) to the Chongzhen period (1628-1644), with the height of production being within the Tianqi period (1621-27). The objects produced were made specifically for the Japanese market, with the shapes and the designs being tailored to the Japanese taste. The shapes created were often expressly made for the Japanese Kaiseki (Tea Ceremony meal) and included mukozuke (small food dishes), kōro (incense burners), and kōgō (small incense containers).
 
Condition
In very good original condition with a minor original slip-glazed kiln flaw to the edge of the rim. Sand and kiln grit to the footrim.