Height 13.4 cm, mouth diameter 45.8 cm, bottom diameter 13.2 cm
This is probably the largest of the early large underglaze blue and white bowls.
Two Chinese lions are depicted in a very unrestrained and powerful manner, and the Momoyama style can still be felt in the richness of the work.
The coloring of the underglaze blue is quite deep, and the white glaze over the entire surface is thick and somewhat roughly pierced.
The sword guard rim has windows in all directions, and a floral motif is expressed in a crude manner.
These five large bowls from Figures 1 to 5 above are all presumed to have been made at the Kuromuta Yamabeda Kiln in Arita, which was one of the most important kilns in the early Imari period and seems to have had some excellent potters working there.
The reverse sides of most of these works are plain, and the date of production is not clear because precise excavation has not yet been conducted, but they probably date back to the Kan’ei period.
