Height 3.7 cm, mouth diameter 16.9 x 12.4 cm, base diameter 9.1 x 6.3 cm
This is the most outstanding dish of the Ko-Nabeshima style, with a design commonly known as “crab peony. It is decorated with underglaze blue, purple, yellow, and green, and the green and purple tones are truly vivid. The two sides of the reverse side show a design of peony branches in strong brush strokes. The color tone of the underglaze blue is dark, perhaps due to the fresh glaze, and the brush strokes seem to be similar to those on the shards excavated from the Minamikawara old kiln site. The slightly elevated base is covered with a continuous heart-shaped pattern. This type of banded pattern is found not only in Nabeshima but also in Kakiemon and Imari wares, but it is more common in wares thought to have been made before the Kanbun and Enpo periods.
