Dish with Design of Herons in a Lotus Pond

This large dish portrays two herons in a pond with lotus and reeds. The single lotus pod suggests the season is mid-summer when the blossoms have fallen. The peaceful scene is contained within double circles while the surrounding border is broad, carrying its own landscape theme of water, rocks, banana, and butterfly. The design is freely and rapidly drawn in fairly rich blue. Washes in lighter and darker gray-blue are layered over solid areas.

The striking design is derived from Chinese prototypes. Bananas are often seen on Chinese blue-and-white porcelain of the early 17th century during the late Ming dynasty, while butterflies frequently adorn Kangxi period (1662–1722) porcelains of the Qing dynasty. However, the overall composition is very much in the Japanese manner.