Presented is a very rare beautiful round deep Japanese dish with ko-Imari decor. A superb decor is hand-painted in very dark underglaze cobalt blue and overglaze iron red and gold. The shelf is decorated on the white light gray crackled cover with several cicadas with large gold-lined wings on fanciful branches with iron-red painted ginko biloba leaves, the favorite food of the cicada. The cicada is also the symbol of the transition from life to death. The shelf is bordered with a thick concentric cobalt-colored line. Elevation and edge have a cobalt blue ground color in which three large and three small rounded cartouches are recessed. In the large recesses we see a whimsical branch with several peonies, chrysanthemums with gilded detailing and a bamboo on a bridge. The smaller six-lobed cartouches are painted with a lotus plant in a brownish-red color. They are surrounded by gilded leaves and curls. On the lip we see a concentric blue-colored line. On the slightly crackled glazed back we see three painted lotus plants in dark underglaze blue and iron red on the border and elevation. Externally from the base ring there are three parallel concentric lines in cobalt color underglaze. In the center we see four remains of proene in the shape of a “Y”, indicative of the early 18th century, within a concentric blue ring. An old paper label has also been pasted on with a number and a word in black ink. This dish has all the hallmarks of a Japanese origin and dates from around 1700.

Condition: some dents in the cover, otherwise perfect. Top work!