Height 8.5 cm, mouth diameter 28.0 cm, base diameter 17.5 cm, tripod
Three egrets are clearly depicted in white on a thin lapis lazuli ground with lotus leaves. This is probably the most outstanding Nabeshima blue-and-white large dish. After drawing the egrets and lotus leaves in lines, a thin solution of gozu (the Japanese common name for cobalt pigment used in dyeing) was applied several times to the blank areas of the ground and lotus leaves, but it was applied evenly and without the slightest touch of the brush. The fact that such skillful workmanship was possible is a testament to the high caliber of craftsmen gathered at the kilns of the feudal domain. The design of the lotus leaves at the base is also interesting, and the extraordinary skill with which the design is fully expressed is to be greatly admired. The low, broad, serpentine base has animal-faced legs on three sides, and the base of the exposed body is covered with 20 small needlepoint marks on the outside and 16 on the inside. The legs are decorated with dark lapis lazuli underglaze blue, and the outer three sides are decorated with a three-sided design of lotus branches.
