Dish with design of the Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido

Dish of extraordinarily large size and weight with sides flaring in curve from low foot; five glaze scars from “spur” supports. Lip rim is thickened slightly with a flattened edge. Foot-rim is slanted in and slightly undercut inside and is unglazed on rounded bearing edge. Excellent condition, no apparent damage or repair. Mark in underglaze blue on base.

Clay: white porcelain, on exposed biscuit of foot-rim it is discolored and dirty.

Glaze: clear, high quality, felspathic, a very few pin holes and iron-spots.

Decoration: painted in underglaze cobalt blue in outline and wash. Inside: 55 circular blue-banded landscape medallions connected in spiral progression by white bands bearing characters. The background is an all-over pattern of repeated single-dotted small circles. The subject is Tokaido Gojusan Tsugi, the 53 stages of the Tokaido, which is the old road between Edo (Tokyo) and Kyoto, as depicted in the famous series of prints by Hiroshige, published in 1834. The name of each station appears in the band leading to it. Outside: the entire back of cavetto is covered by an elaborated scroll. The basic eight large elements of the scroll design are attached to one another at four points by a five-petal blossom. Near the foot is a double and single ring band enclosing alternating x and = patterns, a double ring is on the outside of the foot and also on base near the foot-rim. Calligraphy of mark is strong and clear. Lip rim is banded in blue.