Antique Japanese Bowl Edo Era 19Th Century Ceramic Imari Blue & White 9"

This is an antique late Edo Era (c. 1840) Japanese Imari ceramic shallow square bowl with a hand painted design of flowers and leaves surrounded by geometric patterns including the repeating ancient Chinese meander or "Greek fret" which encircles the bottom of the bowl. The color of blue seen in this plate is known as "gosu" blue. It is a pigment made of natural cobalt. It also includes magnesium, iron and aluminum impurities giving this glaze a soft-blue tone. Around 1870, gosu was replace by a chemically-produced and less expensive cobalt oxide that creates a brighter, more intense blue. Older plates like this one have the more subtle blue tones. The bottom displays a single character artist signature. This type of square plate was much more difficult to make than a simple round plate. The use of geometric and lined patterns was a style seen only in the late Edo era. There are some dark grey flecks of kiln ash. On the bottom edge a chip can be seen (picture 7). It measures 9 1/4" at its widest by 1 1/2" tall (23.5 x 4 cm). Having been in storage or carefully displayed for much of the past century, other than the kiln ash chip, it remains in fine condition. A great size for serving something very special.