Porcelain dish with deer

A large porcelain saucer dish supported on a low foot.  The inside of the dish is painted in underglaze blue with a broad frieze that runs along the rim, in which three deer frolic amongst scattered maple leaves and flowers.  The reverse of the dish is painted with a continuous formal scrolling design.  The centre of the base has a square mark.

•   A product of the Arita kilns, this dish is unusual in that it has no decoration to the centre.  The freely painted, playful deer have an almost cartoon-like quality.  The same quality applies to eight horses painted on the rim of a large dish, which was included in the exhibition Porcelain for Palaces at the British Museum in 1990.1  

1. Ayers, J., Impey, O. and Mallet, J.V.G. Porcelain for Palaces, The Fashion for Japan in Europe, 1650-1750, Oriental Ceramic Society and the British Museum, 1990, no. 143, page 165